Landing Feet First
by pavelsfury
Summary: LevixPetra (Rivetra). Modern AU in which Petra is studying to become a music teacher, Levi is a graphic artist, Hanji likes drunken cooking experiments, and Erwin is addicted to Candy Crush. Rated T for Levi's potty mouth.
1. Moving Day

Author's Note: This_ story was inspired by my own experiences with moving, and an episode of Louie that I saw the other day. This is also my first attempt at writing fanfiction - up until now I have only read it. Any and all feedback/constructive criticism is appreciated!_

* * *

_Fuck Erwin!_ he cursed mentally as he lumbered up the final flight of stairs, an overstuffed duffel in one hand and a sagging cardboard box full of kitchen utensils in the other. Drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, he reached the top of the fifth floor of Cedar Greens, the more than slightly sketchy apartment building that he now unhappily called home.

Although he hated living in such a dilapidated place, it was the only option, since he would only be receiving a small stipend as a graduate student trying to "make it" in New York City.

New York was the stereotypical place for an aspiring artist, but it was the only large city that he could stand to live in, and therefore, the reason that he allowed Erwin to talk him into applying for a Master's Degree program in Graphic Design at NYU. In his opinion, his portfolio was shit, but miraculously, he has somehow landed a spot in the program and was only notified of this six weeks ago, leaving very little time to find a place to live.

Although he appreciated Erwin's help in finding a place, his new place was absolutely disgusting. Every inch of the place would need to be scoured, especially the bathroom. He shuddered slightly just thinking of the filth that resided in the shit hole that was his new apartment.

Tossing the duffel bag and sagging box onto the floor, he kicked off his shoes at the door and then sat down on his un-made bed. Although he didn't have much money to spare for rent and other expenses, he had decided to splurge on his queen-size, memory foam mattress. Sighing, he looked around the room at boxes upon boxes of his possessions. Although he was normally craved order and despised all forms of clutter, he flopped back onto the bed, utterly exhausted and vowing to deal with all this shit after a short nap.

He pulled out his phone and saw only a single text message from Erwin - which could certainly be dealt with later. Putting a playlist of classical music on low volume, he slipped his earbuds into his ears and fell asleep in minutes.

* * *

She and Hanji had just returned from yet another coffee outing - they were really spending way too much money at the local shops these days.

"Finally home!" exclaimed Hanji. "Those stairs are killing me!"

"They really need to fix the elevator," agreed Petra. "Five flights of stairs in 95 degree weather is just ridiculous. Wait, where did all of these boxes come from?"

"Oh, new tenant, some friend of Erwin's," said Hanji casually. "And it looks like they forgot to lock their door." She pointed to the slightly ajar door across from the door to their own apartment.

"Do you think I should go say something? What if they don't know that it's open? I mean, anyone could just walk in and take something." Petra thought of their coke-addicted neighbors that could almost always be found selling stolen goods to local pawn shops for cash.

"Yeah, it couldn't hurt," agreed Hanji. "Plus, Erwin said this one is a bit…eccentric."

"Eccentric?" Petra scoffed. "I guess I will have to check this out for myself."

Hanji grinned and unlocked the door to their own apartment, turning back to Petra only to say "Have fun with that!."

Petra took a deep breath and then gently rapped on the slightly open door. Hearing nothing after a few seconds, she knocked at a louder volume, waiting again, this time for almost two minutes.

Hesitating for a few moments, she ventured inside the apartment, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

"Hello….?" She called, looking around at the unpacked bags and boxes that littered the small space. "Is anyone home?"

She wandered past the cramped living room and peered into the bathroom and kitchen, seeing no one.

The door to the bedroom was halfway open. Peering inside, she saw a figure passed out on a bed that occupied most of the room.

Although he was lying down, she could tell that he wasn't very tall, maybe only an inch or two taller than her. He wore dark jeans, a fitted gray t-shirt that was slightly wet, (probably sweat, she thought) and no shoes. He had in a pair of white earbuds, which were attached to the phone lying on the bed next to him. His black hair appeared to be a sweaty, tangled mess, and she could tell just by looking at his pallid complexion that he was probably dehydrated from the heat.

"Um…hello?" She said softly, an awkward feeling building in her stomach. Absolutely zero response from the passed-out new tenant.

"Hi, my name is Petra, I live next door, and you should probably keep your door locked so coke heads don't just walk in here and steal your stuff!" she blurted loudly. Still no response.

Sighing heavily, she awkwardly poked through boxes of his possessions until finally finding one with plastic red Solo cups.

_Classy,_ she thought to herself as she filled the cup with cool water from the tap in the kitchen.

"Hey, um, you should really wake up and drink some water," she said loudly. "And lock your door!"

When he still didn't stir, she walked over to the bed and shook his shoulder gently. "Hey, wake up!"

The light touch had broken his trace. His blue-gray eyes shot open, looking startled.

"Shit! Who the fuck are you?"

He sat up with a jolt, ripping the earbuds out of his ears in the process.

"My name is Petra, I live next door, your door was open, you look sick-" Her words came out in a jumble as she tried to back away from her angry new neighbor.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Ever heard of knocking?"

"I did knock. Multiple times. I came in here and tried to get you to wake up but you weren't responding. You look like you might have heatstroke."

"I'm fine!" He was still shouting. "I don't have fucking heatstroke."

"Please just drink this water. You'll feel better, really."

"What makes you think you can tell me what to do?"

Petra felt another presence in the room and turned around to see Erwin, a friend of Hanji's that she had met once or twice.

"You do look like shit," Erwin said bluntly to the new tenant. "You should probably drink that water."

"Both of you, get out now!" he snapped, leaping off of the bed.

"Okay, but you can't say we didn't try," huffed Erwin, turning to leave the cramped apartment. Petra followed blindly, the pit of awkwardness in her stomach ready to swallow her whole.

"I'll be back later, Levi," said Erwin. "Once your man-period is over."


	2. Quidditch Pong

Author's Note: _Quidditch pong is a real thing. I saw it on Pinterest!_

* * *

"So how's the new tenant?" asked Hanji as Petra opened the door to their apartment.

"Kind of a dick," said Petra honestly. "He was asleep when I came in and looked like he might be dehydrated - you know, from the heat…I tried to get him to drink water and he threw a tantrum. He's got a bit of a potty mouth too."

"Fun guy," said Hanji sarcastically. "Erwin told me he's a graduate student at NYU."

"Shit, I'll probably see him around campus then," sighed Petra. "Just what I need, another weirdo to run into…"

"Oh come on, Petra, Auruo isn't so bad." Hanji insisted.

"He kind of is. He follows me around like a lost puppy even though I've told him I'm only interested in being friends."

"He seems like a nice guy. Would it really kill you to go out with him?"

"I'm just not interested in a relationship," said Petra. "I've got work and school to keep me busy right now."

"I know, your barista job must be sooooo stressful…"

"I'm not just a barista! I have to do some of the baking there too," argued Petra. "If the right guy comes along, then great. But I'm certainly not going looking for him."

"I'm just teasing, Petra. Oh, also, Erwin is having a party tomorrow night, do you want to go?"

"Yeah, sure, but I can't stay too long, I have to work at 8 the next morning."

* * *

_Stupid fucking Erwin,_ he thought to himself as he walked up to Erwin's building. How the hell had he let himself get talked into going to a party? He never went to parties - they were loud, obnoxious, and full of messy drunk people.

However, tonight the party seemed like a better alternative than sitting around his apartment. He had cleaned everything, especially the bathroom, put all of his possessions away, and was now waiting for Internet to be set up. Since classes didn't start until next week, he had nothing else to do, and therefore no excuse to offer when Erwin invited him to this stupid party.

Sighing, he knocked on Erwin's door and stepped back.

To his surprise, it was opened not by Erwin, but by the strawberry blonde girl that had invited herself into his apartment yesterday.

"Oh. Hi." she said, blushing profusely and avoiding eye contact. "Levi, right?"

He nodded, then stepped past her, making his way to the bar, his eyes focusing on the assorted varieties of whiskey that Erwin had lined up. Pouring himself a large glass of whiskey, he turned around to go talk to Erwin, but ran into the girl that had answered the door.

"Oh, sorry," she sputtered. "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I shouldn't have just barged in like that."

"Well, I did leave the door open like an idiot." he admitted. "But you kind of freaked me out."

"Sorry," she apologized again, still unable to meet his eyes. He took a sip of his drink, trying to ignore the awkward silence. The warmth of the whiskey washed over his body and made his head feel slightly fuzzy.

"It's okay. I was just pissed off yesterday because my place is a dump and moving sucks."

"Hey, don't forget I live right next to you, ours is pretty bad too. But Hanji - she's my roommate - and I are NYU students, we can't afford anything better."

"I'm going to NYU too," he said, wondering to himself why he was sharing so much with this girl…he didn't even remember her name.

"Yeah, Erwin mentioned that you're an art student there." she said.

"Graphic design. Masters." he said shortly, taking another gulp of whiskey.

"Wow, that's great,' she said enthusiastically. "I'm getting my bachelor's in music education."

He nodded, scanning the room for Erwin.

She stood there awkwardly for a few more seconds before excusing herself. "Oh, there's Hanji, I better go! See you later!"

She hurried across the room to talk to Hanji, a tall girl with brown hair in a ponytail and glasses.

"See, Petra isn't so bad," said Erwin from behind the bar.

_Petra. That was her name._

Levi shrugged and turned back to Erwin, handing over his empty glass. "Want to get me another one of these?"

* * *

"Well, I apologized," said Petra sheepishly. "And I tried to be nice about it."

"It was the right thing to do," said Hanji. "You did walk into his apartment and scare the shit out of him."

"I need a drink," Petra stated plainly, and proceeded to grab a tall glass, filling about a third of it with vodka and the rest with orange juice.

"What, is he making you nervous or something?" asked Hanji, eyeing the drink.

"No, I'm just ready to relax."

"What about work? Don't you have to go in at 8 tomorrow?"

"Nope. Swapped shifts." Petra took a hearty swig of her drink.

"He's pretty cute…" Hanji was baiting Petra and she knew it.

She sighed, glancing at Levi from across the room. Although Petra would never admit it to Hanji, he _was_ cute - despite his lack of height. She could see him leaning against the bar, pulling off the not-trying-too-hard-hipster look - an undercut, fitted plaid shirt over a navy blue v-neck, cuffed jeans, and oxfords. She had even caught a glimpse of a small tattoo on his inner wrist - although she hadn't been able to make out what it was. He had high cheekbones, narrow gray-blue eyes, and seemed to be constantly displeased about something, but somehow, this only added to his appeal.

"Still a bit of a dick though," said Petra. "And not much for conversation."

"Give him a chance," said Hanji. "Most of Erwin's friends are cool."

Petra looked slightly skeptical. At the moment, Erwin and a group of friends were playing an obscure drinking game that could only be described as "Quidditch Pong".

She stole another glance at Levi. He hadn't moved from the bar, nursing what had to be his third or fourth drink.

"Oooh, Quidditch pong!" exclaimed Hanji. "I'm going to play!"

Petra topped off her drink and followed Hanji across the room.

* * *

Still not feeling adequately buzzed, Levi poured another glass of whiskey and plopped down on Erwin's futon, watching the strange Harry Potter inspired "Quidditch pong". He was terrible at those kinds of games and refused to play, but watching other people look ridiculous could be fun once and a while.

He felt the futon shift and looked over to see to see Petra…again.

"Oh, hey again," she said, smiling brightly. She did have a nice smile…

_Stop it, you're drunk,_ he thought to himself.

"Hey," he murmured, taking a sip of whiskey.  
She took a long swig of her drink - vodka and orange juice from the look of it - and gestured to the game of Quidditch pong going on across the room. "Why aren't you playing?"

"I could ask you the same question." he countered, the alcohol loosening his tongue.

"I'm so bad at it!" She squirmed slightly, her skirt riding up to reveal toned legs. "Why don't you play?" she asked again.

"I'm enjoying my drink." Levi said, gesturing to the glass in his hand. He was definitely feeling the buzz now. He reached up to touch his face and discovered that it felt numb…he tried to stand up and collapsed back onto the futon.

"Whoa, be careful," Petra slurred, placing her hand on his forearm.

Despite being drunk, he still hated being touched and jerked his arm out of her grasp.

"Sorry." she mumbled again, looking slightly disappointed for some reason.

"Nah, it's alright," he said. "I'm pretty shitfaced right now, if we're being honest."

Petra clutched her stomach. "Me too. And I'm not really feeling that well…I might just walk home."

He thought of the sketchy neighborhood that Erwin lived in and the creeps that he had seen gathered on the street corners came to mind…

"I might go home too. Parties like this aren't really my thing."

"This is going to sound so needy, but will you walk with me? I don't want to go alone, but I don't have money for a cab." She blushed and looked away, chugging the rest of her drink.

Levi just stared at her. He would never agree to this sober, but drunk…for some reason he could never say no.

"Okay," he agreed. "Let's leave now, before Erwin tries to talk us into staying."

They grabbed their coats and slipped out the door, shutting it silently behind them.


	3. Sharktopus

Author's Note: _Inspired by my own experiences with drinking too much, migraines, and bad Sci-Fi channel movies…_  
_Please let me know if anyone seems OOC! Sometimes I get caught up in the story and it's hard to tell._

Once on the street, they walked briskly, the cool air making Levi feel more sober than he actually was. He tried to ignore the numbness in his face and his slightly blurred vision.

Their apartment building was just a few short blocks from Erwin's and before long, they had reached the door of the building.

Petra seemed to have sobered up considerably during the walk home, as she was able to make it up the stairs without much of a struggle. However, Levi was feeling the blunt of the four…five? glasses of whiskey right now…

"Goddammit," he cursed, stumbling up the stairs after Petra. "I drank way too much tonight."

"I'm sorry," she said genuinely. "You should drink some water when you get in."

He nodded, pulling out his keys to unlock the door.

"Shit," muttered Petra as she dug through her purse. "I think I left my keys at Erwin's."

"Um…." Levi didn't know what to do. It might be a long time before Hanji came home…if she came home at all. According to Erwin, she usually drank enough to pass out and had a habit of falling asleep in strange places. He couldn't just leave Petra to sleep out in the hall…but he barely knew her. Inviting her in would be weird too.

He was too drunk for this shit. "I guess you can come in until Hanji comes home."

* * *

Petra surveyed the small apartment, noting how drastically different it looked compared to the state of disarray from yesterday. Furniture was arranged, the floors had been vacuumed, and everything had been neatly organized.

He shrugged off the plaid shirt and kicked off his shoes, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. As Levi look a long sip, Petra couldn't help but steal a quick glance at him - the v-neck of his t-shirt showed off his collarbones nicely. He popped three ibuprofen and sat down on the couch.

"Want to watch TV until Hanji gets back?"

"Sure." She gingerly sat down, not wanting to disturb the perfectly arranged throw pillows.

They ended up watching several Sci-Fi channel movies, drunkenly making fun of the bad acting and cheesy special effects.

"Like, seriously, Sharktopus? Who thinks of that?" laughed Petra as she turned to Levi, only to find that he had fallen asleep next to her. His lips were slightly parted, his hair mussed, and his breathing deep and even.

The combination of her slightly inebriated state and his disheveled appearance made Levi even more attractive. _I'm just being like this because I'm drunk,_ she assured herself, denying the small crush.

Still, she couldn't resist brushing Levi's bangs out of his eyes. Smiling to herself, Petra covered him with a blanket and turned off the TV.

She quietly slipped out of his apartment and called Hanji from the hall. "Hey, come home. I don't have my keys."

"Okay, I'm on my way over, be there in ten." Hanji was too out of it to even ask where Petra had been for the last few hours.

When she finally did show up, all she could talk about was the "epic" game of Quidditch pong and how much she wanted to order pizza.

"Nothing is open at 5am, Hanji. I'm going to bed," announced Petra, cutting off the rambling.

Petra chugged a tall glass of water, hoping it would help ward off a hangover. Although she could see the sun beginning to rise, she closed her blinds, changed into pajamas, and crawled into bed, hoping to sleep until late afternoon.

* * *

She awoke to knocking at the door. She stole a quick glance at the clock on her bedside table. 7:23 AM. What the hell, who was even up that early on a Sunday?

"Hanji!" she called. "Can you get the door?"

Hearing no response, Petra reluctantly crawled out of bed and pounded on Hanji's bedroom door.

"Hanji? Please?"

She slowly cracked the door and saw Hanji passed out on the bed, still fully dressed and snoring softly. In that state, it was likely she would be dead to the world for the rest of the day.

The knocking at the door came again, a bit louder this time.

"Coming!"

Petra flung open the door, hoping that it wasn't anyone important. She was wearing a grubby high school marching band t-shirt and running shorts, no make-up, and she hadn't even brushed her hair yet.

"Levi? What are you doing here?"

"Hey….do you have anything stronger than ibuprofen? I woke up with a migraine an hour ago and I can't fall back asleep." He looked miserable; his eyes were bloodshot and he was rubbing his temples with a pained expression on his face. He wore sweats and a slightly wrinkled white t-shirt.

Something told her that this was not typical behavior for Levi. In this state, she couldn't just tell him to go away, even if it was ungodly early on a Sunday.

"Yeah, come in, we might have something."

* * *

He hated to bother her, but this was by far the most hungover he had even been. Even the soft rays of sunlight coming from the kitchen were making his head throb painfully.

"Can I lie down?" he gestured at her couch.

"Yeah, of course. Let me see what I can find for you…"

He laid down on the couch, pulling a blanket over his legs and continuing to massage his temples. Unless he closed his eyes, he felt like the whole room was spinning.

Petra began digging through a disorganized drawer in the kitchen, finally pulling out a small prescription bottle. "This is Hanji's. She used to get bad migraines sometimes…do you want to try it?"

He took a quick glance at the bottle. "Yeah, at this point I'll try anything."

She brought over a glass of ice water and he managed to choke down a pill without too much trouble.

"You should probably take a sleep aid too," she said, passing him a bottle of generic over-the-counter sleeping pills.

He shook out one of the small turquoise gel capsules and swallowed it with another small sip of water.

He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Petra. I've never felt this shitty before."

"Shh…it's okay. Here, drink more water, that should help." She passed him the glass of ice water and he gulped the rest of it down, his head still throbbing.

"Do you want me to stay out here with you?" she asked. "You know, in case you need something else…?"

He couldn't believe this was happening. He hadn't felt this helpless in a long time, not since he had gotten bronchitis as college freshman and had to spend a week in bed, taking doses of codeine every few hours.

"Um, sure, I guess…if it's not too much trouble…" He was already starting to become groggy from the combination of the sleep aid and migraine medication.

"Okay," said Petra, walking into the kitchen. "I'm just going to make myself some coffee, and then I'll come sit out here with you."

Levi nodded, his eyes closed and body positioned as comfortably as possible on the couch. Although the sound of Petra's coffee grinder made his head feel worse, the rich, earthy aroma of the freshly ground beans was comforting. Letting out a small sigh, he pulled the blanket over his body and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Well, this is awkward_, thought Petra to herself as she added sugar and french vanilla flavored creamer to her coffee. She just couldn't shake the feeling that this was very uncharacteristic behavior for Levi. Her first impression of him had led her to believe that he was the textbook definition of a control freak; he would never let himself drink too much, let alone come to her asking for pain medication for the resulting migraine. Everything about him, from his impeccable personal appearance to his freakishly tidy apartment suggested exactly the opposite of the behavior he had exhibited toward her thus far.

Trying to avoid over thinking the situation - she had just met him after all - Petra grabbed _The Great Gatsby_ from the bookshelf in her room. Ever since tenth grade American Literature class, it had been her favorite book and she had read it at least a dozen times.

She sank into the armchair next to the couch, setting her coffee down on the end table. Before opening the book, she stole one more glance at Levi. He looked almost like a small child due to the combination of his short stature, the blanket tucked tightly around his body, and his hair sticking up in all directions.

_Watching him sleep is creepy_, she mentally scolded herself. Tearing her eyes away from his sleeping form, she opened the book to one of her favorite passages and began to read.


	4. Java Joe's

Author's Note: _Inspired by my caffeine addiction - in case you're wondering, a red-eye is coffee with a shot of espresso. Just FYI, I have never played Candy Crush, nor do I plan to. Also, thank you for all the lovely reviews/favs/follows! They give me much needed motivation to continue writing! As always, let me know if anyone is OOC/other constructive crit._

* * *

It had been two weeks since the "migraine incident" and Petra had barely seen Levi, despite living next door to him. He spent most of his time holed up in his apartment, presumably studying, since NYU classes had started the previous week. Petra had only seen him in passing a couple of times in the hallway, and he barely made eye contact, let alone spoke to her. It was a sharp contrast from his behavior on the night of Erwin's party, and she couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed that he had to be inebriated in order to speak to her.

But despite Levi's standoffish, abrasive personality, the small moment of weakness she had seen when he knocked on her door that Sunday morning was enough to convince her that he wasn't as cold-hearted as he seemed.

* * *

It was a beautiful early September morning - no wind, 68 degrees, and no chance of rain - perfect weather for a run. Petra laced up her Nikes and scribbled a quick note to Hanji.

_Going for a run, coffee date when I get back?_  
_-Petra_

She headed in the direction of Central Park, hoping that it wouldn't bee too crowded with other runners at 7:30 AM. She found her favorite path and began her usual 5 mile trek around the park.

Running had always been cathartic for Petra, even more so than music. As a music education major, she was proficient in piano, violin, guitar, and saxophone. She had dabbled in at least a dozen other instruments and was reasonably competent at sight-reading and music theory due to her arduous preparation for music school auditions. Although she loved music and her chosen career path, sometimes it contributed stress rather than releasing it.

As Petra neared the halfway mark of her run, her thoughts turned to the long-anticipated student teaching that would begin in three days. For two hours a day, five days per week, she would be teaching a fifth grade music class at a local elementary school. The students would each select an instrument based on aptitude testing and she would be giving instruction related to both technical skills and music theory. This would be her first time in the classroom, and she couldn't wait to get a feel for what teaching would really be like. Although she had given informal piano lessons to some of her young neighbors while she was still in high school, student teaching would be a big step up and would likely impact her job prospects upon graduating from NYU. It was both terrifying and exhilarating, hence the need for a long run.

After completing her route, Petra slowed to a jog and headed back to her apartment, hoping she would still have time to grab coffee with Hanji before work.

Walking into the apartment, she was surprised to see Hanji standing at the stove frying eggs and wearing a school-issued lab coat and jeans rather than pajamas. Although Petra always left notes for Hanji when she left early in the morning, she never really expected her to read them. It was highly unusual for Hanji to wake up before 9, even on weekdays. As Petra entered the kitchen, she noticed Erwin sitting at the table, cursing under his breath at the game of Candy Crush he was playing on his iPhone.

_Well, that would explain why she's out of bed at this hour,_ Petra mused. Hanji and Erwin had known each other since childhood, and constantly teetered on the brink of "just friends" and "dating." Since moving in with Hanji, Petra had begun to feel like the third wheel around the two of them, since they liked to act like a couple during outings. She surmised that they might just be doing this so that they could annoy others by bickering like a married couple.

Erwin didn't even look up from his phone as Petra walked in. He only gave a small grunt of recognition as he continued to fixate on Candy Crush, his latest obsession.

"Breakfast is ready!" chirped Hanji, sliding a plate with a fried egg and slightly burned piece of toast in front of Erwin.

Erwin grunted again, still refusing to give up on the game. "Give me two seconds- dammit, I lost again!"

Petra sighed and headed off to the bathroom to shower, figuring she would have lots of other opportunities to grab coffee with Hanji (preferably without Erwin and his dorky obsession with phone games.)

* * *

Levi closed his MacBook and slid it into his messenger bag next to his now-empty coffee tumbler. His typography seminar had finished almost half an hour early, which would leave plenty of time for a caffeine run before his next class.

The seminar had been on the opposite side of campus as the rest of his classes, and he didn't feel like trudging all the way over to the main library just to get coffee from the basement cafe. He was about to give up on coffee and grab a Red Bull from a vending machine when he noticed a small cafe across the street. It wasn't a chain like Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts; rather, it looked like a hole-in-the-wall sort of place that only locals knew about. He figured it couldn't hurt to give it a shot - worse case scenario, it would be terrible coffee and he'd end up drinking it anyway.

However, it certainly didn't smell like the type of place that served terrible coffee. The earthy aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans greeted him as he opened the door, smelling vaguely familiar. He approached the counter, scanning the menu as he got closer. He was quite picky when it came to coffee and didn't see the point of fancy drinks that disguised the taste. Who needed frappuccinos or mochas or lattes when you could just have black coffee or an Americano?

"Hi, welcome to Java Joe's, what can I get for you?" asked the cashier. He was quite tall, had blonde hair just long enough to pull into a stubby ponytail, and wore a name tag that read "Erd".

"Triple red-eye, biggest size you have," said Levi without hesitation. He needed his caffeine, despite Erwin constantly teasing him that it was stunting his growth.

"Coming right up," said Erd, swiping Levi's credit card.

Levi stood next to the bar, scanning the odd assortment of artwork on the walls. He was moving closer to examine a series of photos depicting some local graffiti when he heard a vaguely familiar voice.

"I'm busy back here, Erd. Get it yourself!"

It was a young woman's voice, clearly frustrated with the situation at hand. He heard muffled crashing, followed by the sound of a door slamming.

"Never mind, I've got it ready. But next time don't interrupt me when I'm putting something in the oven!"

She came out to the bar and called his order. "Large triple red-eye?"

Of course it was Petra.  
Of course he would choose the one coffee shop in all of Manhattan that was her workplace.  
Of course he was trying to avoid her after his embarrassing night of drinking too heavily and had been pretty successful up until now.

"Levi?" She looked slightly surprised as she set the drink down in front of him. "I've never seen you here before."

"It's my first time coming in," he admitted. "I had no idea you worked here."

"I've been here ever since my first semester at NYU," she said proudly. "The coffee is great, I promise you'll love it."

He nodded and took a small sip of the red-eye. She wasn't exaggerating, it really was a fantastic cup of coffee. Not as bitter than the inconsistent shit he usually got from Starbucks, and loads better than watery McDonalds coffee.

"It's…not bad," he said slowly. "I guess I'll have to come in more often."

"We're open seven days a week!" She flashed him a bright smile. "And we have pastries too." She grabbed a blueberry muffin from the display case and handed it to him in a napkin. "On the house."

"I'm don't really do sweets." He felt awkward accepting the muffin, but didn't want to offend her. He took a small, tentative bite, bracing himself for a dry, mealy mouthful. To his surprise, the muffin was light and tender, and the berries added a perfect blend of sweetness and tart acidity.

"How is it?" asked Petra. "Most of the time we sell out of those muffins by the end of the day."

"Not bad." He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of admitting that maybe he had just found the exception to his rule about not eating sweets.

"Here, take another one," she said, bagging it up and sliding it across the counter. "I just put a batch in the oven. My own recipe."

"Thanks, I guess," he mumbled awkwardly, unsure of why she was forcing free muffins on him, especially if they were a best-seller. "I've got to get to my next class, but I'll see you around."

"See you later!" Petra waved as he walked out the door and back onto the busy street. Hopefully she didn't see him reach into the bag and start nibbling on the second muffin.


	5. Dinner?

Author's Note: _I'm sorry it took me forever to get this up. I restarted it like three times, plus I was having a lot of anxiety over the new manga chapter release. It's all good for now though._  
_As always, reviews and constructive crit are appreciated!_

* * *

"So, how were the brats today?" Hanji asked. She and Erwin sat the kitchen table, sharing a slightly burned "breakfast casserole" (another of Hanji's culinary creations.) As usual, Erwin was sucked into an iPhone game - although he had finally given up on Candy Crush and moved onto Flappy Bird. Apparently it was "more strategic."

"Not as bad as yesterday." Petra tried to be optimistic, but she was honestly quite relieved to be done with her first week of student teaching. She liked her students, but she had forgotten just how difficult fifth graders could be.

"Did Eren try to fight Jean again?" asked Hanji excitedly.

"No, but Annie, - this little blonde flute player girl - she took down this kid Reiner - he's got to be like a foot taller than her. It was just ridiculous."

"I wish I could be a kid again," said Hanji wistfully. "I used to do all kinds of weird stuff…"

Petra shuddered slightly at the thought of child-Hanji. Even as an adult Hanji was still a rather unusual person - a graduate student double majoring in biology and forensic science. She constantly petitioned Petra about bringing lab work home, which Petra refused. The last thing she wanted to find was one of Hanji's "experiments" hanging out in the fridge.

"Speaking of weird things, it's Friday," stated Petra. "Don't you guys have plans - besides phone games and breakfast casseroles?"

In response to Petra's dig at Flappy Bird, Erwin finally glanced up from the game, giving her a dirty look. "Party at my place later. You guys can come if you want to."

"I'm actually working 4-close. I ended up volunteering to cover a shift for Erd," said Petra regretfully. Java Joe's was open until midnight - a surprising number of people liked to come in well after most coffee shops closed. "But I suppose I could stop by later if you guys are still there."

"You should," said Hanji. "We need another person for our Quidditch pong team."

"We'll see."

* * *

Petra looked at the clock and sighed. Although she felt like she had been at work for five hours, it was only 5:30, and she was already starting to regret her decision to pick up Erd's shift. She pulled out her phone to check Facebook, scrolling through her news feed mindlessly.

"Miss Petra!"

Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, three of her new students, were standing on the other side of the counter.

"I didn't know you worked here, Miss Petra," said Eren excitedly. "Oooh, can I have a cookie?"

Petra smiled and handed him one, throwing a dollar into the cash register. Eren could be a slightly too persistent at times, but Petra admired his work ethic and dedication to music. He was a pretty good kid when he wasn't getting in fights with Jean.

"Can I have one too?" asked Armin shyly.

"Of course," laughed Petra. She handed both Armin and Mikasa a warm cookie, depositing another two dollars into the register.

"Thank you, Miss Petra," said Mikasa. Of the three children, she was by far the most mature. Quiet and slightly standoffish, Mikasa was also very protective of Eren and accompanied him almost everywhere. She also showed great aptitude for playing the violin, her chosen instrument.

As they ran to sit down, the door chimed again, signaling the arrival of another customer. Levi walked into the shop, wearing his typical bored expression, a crisp white button down shirt, and slim-fit black jeans. He held his oversized coffee tumbler in one hand and his messenger bag in the other.

"The usual?" asked Petra as he approached the counter. Since the first day she had seen Levi in the shop, he had come in at least once a day, claiming that he was sick of overpriced Starbucks and shitty library basement coffee.

He nodded, handing over the coffee tumbler and pulling out his phone, which was vibrating.

"Yeah, what? No, I don't want to go to your damn party. What? No…I have shit to do. Whatever, bye." He sighed, shoving the phone back into his pocket.

"Erwin," he said by way of explanation to Petra, who had returned with his thermos of freshly brewed coffee, a Kona blend this time.

"You don't want to go to another _awesome_ party?" she teased.

He raised one eyebrow at her. "Hell no. Taking a shit is more fun than Erwin's parties."

"Oh, lighten up. At least you don't have to work at a coffee shop all night," said Petra. Although she liked her job most of the time, the night shifts were either rushed and hectic or slow and tedious. Plus there was all of the cleaning that came along with closing…

"At least you don't have a webpage layout to design by tomorrow," he countered. Despite being a great artist, he was also a master of procrastination.

"How about a cookie for inspiration?" offered Petra. "It's a new recipe, oatmeal raisin this time."

"You know I don't like sweets."

"You seem to eat the ones I throw at you."

"Damn it, just give me the cookie."

Petra smirked, reaching into the display case to grab one.

"Miss Petra, can I have another cookie?" Eren had appeared out of nowhere, obviously on a bit of a sugar high. "Please? Please?" He launched himself over the counter, nearly knocking over Levi's coffee in the process.

"Watch it, you little shit!" Levi snarled.

"Levi! You can't say stuff like that to him! He's just a kid!"

Eren cowered behind the counter, still eyeing the case of baked goods.

"Here, Eren, take another one." Petra handed him a gooey chocolate chip cookie, helping him climb back over the counter. "But maybe you should go play outside with Armin and Mikasa…you guys have all had a lot of sugar today."

"Okay, Miss Petra!" Eren ran another full lap around the shop before finally leading Mikasa and Armin out the door.

Petra sighed, relieved that disaster had been (somewhat) averted.

"You know that brat?" asked Levi, giving her a suspicious glare.

"Yeah, I'm student teaching, remember? He's just a harmless fifth grader, Levi."

"Nearly spilling my coffee isn't harmless."

Petra shrugged. "You better go claim your table." She gestured to his favorite table in the corner, the one closest to the outlets, but still close enough to the counter to get easy coffee refills.

He rolled his eyes and walked over to the table, opening his laptop and taking a hearty swig of coffee.

* * *

Levi glanced at his watch. He was nearly done with the layout, but the cafe was closing in ten minutes. He hated to bother Petra by staying late, but…he had an idea. Although he usually hated sharing his art with others, Petra was different. He hadn't known her very long, but he enjoyed their witty banter. Levi willingly conversed with others very rarely, but lately, he had found himself actually wanting to talk to Petra. Although she was easygoing and even bordered on motherly at times, he knew that she also didn't take anyone's shit. Smirking to himself, he remembered how amusing it had been to see her cuss out Erd for making a huge mess with the espresso machine.

Before he could think better of it, Levi decided to try out his idea.

"Petra." The bored tone had left his voice, a sense of urgency replacing it.

"Levi, I'm closing this place down in ten minutes. I already dumped out the coffee pots, so you can't have another refill."

"No, it's not that. I want you to come over here and look at this. So that I can be done with this shitty layout."

"Well…I guess I could take a look," she mused. "But I wouldn't be much help. I don't know anything about design, or art, or webpages…or any of that stuff, really."

"I just need a second opinion." He fiddled with the sidebar of the webpage. "Please? I'll help you with closing if you want."

"Help me with closing?" she asked incredulously. "Okay, I'll come look at it."

She walked over to his table and stood behind him, leaning over his shoulder. This caused the ends of her hair to brush his collar just slightly, tickling his neck. He tried to ignore the wonderful aroma of her hair - oranges and ginger, maybe?

"Just give me your honest opinion of the layout," he instructed, consciously trying not to think about how close she was right now. "No bullshit."

Petra began looking over the page, admiring his choice of colors, as well as the font choices. The navigation was pretty easy too; the page pretty much functioned like tumblr, although it was supposed to be for a vet clinic.

"I like the font," commented Petra. "It's unique, but still easy to read."

"I designed it myself." Realizing that this sounded kind of arrogant, he added "for typography class."

"Nice." She paused, seemingly deep in thought. "Honestly, I can't think of anything to criticize. I think it's absolutely fine the way it is." She walked back over to the counter and began sanitizing it.

He watched her wipe the sanitized counter with a grimy sponge, feeling disgusted.

"You know, you're just spreading the germs around by doing that."

"Look, Levi, I'm really not in the mood for your weird OCD. I just want to get out of here." Petra was clearly exasperated - although the cafe had been pretty dead when he arrived, business had picked up over the course of the night, and she had been dealing with difficult customers, screaming children, and her co-worker Gunther breaking a stack of coffee mugs.

He walked over to her, grabbing the sponge out of her hand and throwing it in the trash.

"What the hell?" She slapped his arm - hard. He winced, not expecting this kind of behavior from Petra. Maybe he had underestimated her.

"Where do you keep clean rags?" asked Levi. He received a blank stare. "I promised I would help you with closing, remember?"

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to the supply closet, handing him a stack of clean rags and a caddy of assorted cleaning supplies.

"Have fun."

She walked over to the sink and began washing dishes, slamming them into the drying rack after rising off the suds.

* * *

"Well, that's it. I'm ready to lock up." Petra gathered her things and slipped off her apron, discarding it in the laundry bin.

"The floors are filthy. Just get me a mop," insisted Levi.

_Stupid clean freak_, thought Petra.

"No. I'm tired and hungry and I want to go home," she complained. It had been a grueling shift, and she just wanted to lie around and catch up on Game of Thrones.

Levi sighed, and put the caddy of cleaning supplies back into the closet. "Fine."

Not even ten minutes later, Petra had closed up the shop and they were walking back in the direction of their shared apartment building.

"Hey, Petra?" His voice was uncharacteristically soft, the usual bored inflection gone.

"Yeah?"

"Want to grab dinner somewhere?"


	6. My Drunk Kitchen

Author's Note: _This whole chapter basically exists because I love the LOTR drinking game and My Drunk Kitchen. Also because I have far too many head canons about drunk SnK characters..._

* * *

Petra stopped walking. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted dinner. You probably haven't eaten all night," Levi pointed out. "It's after midnight."

"I don't want dinner."

He stared at her blankly, obviously expecting a different response. "Okay. Let's just go home and-"

"Relax. I was just going to say I'm more in the mood for ice cream and something alcoholic." She pointed at the 7-11 that was just up the street. "Sound good to you?"

* * *

"I can't believe you don't want to play the Lord of the Rings drinking game," she whined. "Come on, it's easy. Every time Frodo makes a jizz face, or he and Sam have a "moment", you take a shot. We'll be wasted in no time."

He pouted. "I'm going to end up with another migraine if we do that, Petra."

"You'll be fine," she protested. "I'll make sure you don't drink too much."

Before he could get a word in edgewise, she was putting the The Fellowship of the Ring into the DVD player.

As predicted, they were completely wasted not even an hour into the movie.

Petra rolled around on the floor of her living room, giggling uncontrollably. Levi wasn't entirely sure what she found so funny, but he figured the copious amounts of ice cream (nearly an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's) and alcohol (at least seven shots of vodka) had something to do with it.

If it had been anyone else, he would have left by now; he hated dealing with drunk people. But something about drunk Petra was…endearing? Adorable? He didn't really know, and decided that his current state of heavy intoxication was to blame for his lack of annoyance.

However, her giggling was getting a bit ridiculous.

"Shut up, I can't hear the movie."

"You shut up!" she retorted, continuing to roll around. "God, you're so cranky."

Levi grabbed the remote and turned up the volume significantly.

She frowned at him. "It doesn't need to be that loud."

"It does, because you won't shut the hell up!"

With a considerable amount of effort, she pulled herself onto the couch, slowly edging closer to him. "Give me the remote, Levi."

"No."

"It's my house," she slurred. "Give it to me."

"Make me," he taunted, holding it above his head.

Smirking, she jumped into his lap, lunging for the remote. Levi stiffened, taken aback by the unexpected physical contact.

_What the hell is she doing?_ he thought to himself.

He stared at the petite girl in his lap, his drunken state only amplifying her beauty. Smooth skin, full, slightly parted lips, and bright amber eyes were staring him right in the face. Before he could say anything, Petra had latched onto him, her slender fingers tightly gripping his shoulders. He slowly lowered his arms, setting the remote on the coffee table.

Petra paid no attention to the remote; instead her fingers migrated from his shoulders and began stroking his collarbones. Without really thinking about it, Levi reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his fingertips just barely stroking her jaw as he pulled his hand away.

"Levi," she breathed, leaning in closer.

Their faces were so close now, noses almost touching. His heart was racing and his palms tingled with anticipation.

Without warning, the door was thrown open, revealing Hanji. She was even more inebriated than Petra, judging from the difficulty that she had kicking off her shoes and the fact that she was dumping the contents of her bag all over the floor.

"I'm back!" she slurred in a sing-song voice as she pointed at the pile of junk on the floor. "Guys, help me find my phone!"

Hanji didn't seem to notice the somewhat compromising position that Levi and Petra were in - or if she did, finding her phone was of greater concern.

"Guys? Help?"

Petra wandered over, half crawling because she kept giggling. "It's right here, Hanji." She pulled the phone out from under a bunch of loose lab reports that had fallen out of the bag.

"Good, now I can look up a recipe for pizza lasagna!" Hanji grabbed the phone out of Petra's hand and made her way into the kitchen, where she started pulling out refrigerated dough, pizza sauce, cheese, and an assortment of pots and pans.

Levi shot Petra a confused look. "Pizza lasagna?"

"She likes to drunk cook," Petra explained. "Like an episode of My Drunk Kitchen! Hey, Hanji, you should take a video. We could get YouTube famous!"

Levi rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long-ass night.

* * *

Two hours later, they had documented the process of drunkenly cooking pizza lasagna, opened a very shitty bottle of wine, and were now watching a Sci-Fi channel movie about werewolves.

"I'm going to bed," announced Hanji. "I've got to get to the lab tomorrow at some point."

"Goodnight," said Petra. "I'll make sure you get up before noon, don't worry."

Levi simply nodded, still a little bit annoyed at Hanji for interrupting the "almost-kiss" earlier.

_Was it even an almost kiss?_ He really wasn't sure anymore.

"I'm cold," complained Petra, wrapping her arms around herself.

"They make these things called blankets. I think there's one right here on the couch." Levi got extra sassy when drunk.

"You're mean," she complained, grabbing a blanket from the end of the couch.

"Just trying to help."

She pouted, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. Now that there was more space on the couch, she opted to stretch out and use Levi's legs as a pillow.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking down at her unkempt hair, wrinkled clothes, and sleepy eyes.

"You're my pillow," she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, be a good pillow so we can watch the werewolf movie."

He sighed, and began absentmindedly playing with the ends of her hair.

* * *

Levi awoke to gentle rays of sunlight streaming into what he quickly recognized to be Petra's living room. He stole a quick glance at his phone - 8:17 AM.

_Shit, I guess I spent the night,_ he mused, still unable to decide whether or not that was a problem.

His stomach felt terribly queasy, plus his head was throbbing. He moved to get up, hoping to find Hanji's migraine pills again, but realized that he was still acting as Petra's pillow.

She was sound asleep, her entire torso draped over his thighs, and one of her arms wrapped around his waist. He gently stroked her hair, admiring its softness.

"Petra," he said softly. "Get off me, I feel like shit."

There was no indication that she had heard him. "Petra." He shook her shoulder gently.

"Mmmm?" Her voice was hoarse from disuse.

"I need you to get off me."

"But you're my pillow," she protested sleepily.

"I need pain pills, now," he said, getting agitated.

No response…

"Come on, Petra." When she still didn't budge, he simply picked her up, carrying her bridal style. "Where's your room?"

"Corner. Next to the bathroom," she replied sleepily.

He entered the room, laying her down on the unmade bed, and looking around at her decorated walls. They were mostly covered by movie posters, but there was a section near her desk that was devoted to music related comics.

"Stay with me?" she asked.

"I'll be right back, just a second," he said, wandering into the kitchen to find Hanji's migraine pills. After taking two, he wandered back into Petra's room to find that she had burrowed under the covers without bothering to change into pajamas.

He sat down on the bed gingerly, the reality that he was in a girl's room for the first time in over a year finally hitting him. He did his best to push the thought aside.

"Do you need anything?" he asked, concerned that she might have an even worse hangover than he did.

"Stay with me." A demand, not a request this time.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Petra. I should probably go be a shitty sick person in my own house."

She grabbed his hand. "Stay."

He looked down at her messy hair spread out like a halo around her head, her eyes closed and mouth in a half-smile, giving her a peaceful expression.

"Okay," he agreed, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead.


	7. Avengers

Author's Note:_ THANK YOU for all the reviews/follows/favs! It makes me so motivated and excited to write this fic! However, I really do like constructive crit, so don't be afraid to tell me if things seem off or OOC._

* * *

"Petra. _Petra._ PETRA!"

She struggled to open her heavy-lidded eyes; the seemingly blinding fluorescent lighting of her bedroom didn't help matters.

"What, Hanji? What are you bothering me about at" - she stole a glance at the alarm clock next to her bed - "8:32 AM on a Saturday?"

Hanji beamed down at her, entirely too excited at this ungodly early hour.

"Next weekend is Halloween!"

"Seriously, you're waking me up on a Saturday just to tell me that Halloween is next weekend? I have a calendar, you know," Petra grumbled, knowing that there would be no going back to sleep.

"But I finally figured out what our group Halloween costume can be!" Hanji chirped excitedly.

Petra sighed, bracing herself for what was about to come out of Hanji's mouth. For most girls their age, Halloween was just an excuse to get wasted and wear a slutty animal costume. But for Hanji, it was a bigger deal than Christmas. She typically brainstormed ideas months in advance, and insisted on elaborate group costumes. However, they had already exhausted a lot of options - since freshman year of college they had done Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Pokemon.

"Okay, so what do you think we should do this year?" asked Petra with genuine curiosity.

"The Avengers!" cried Hanji, obviously really pumped for the idea.

"The Avengers," repeated Petra, her tone slightly skeptical. "Explain."

"Well, Erwin's going to be Captain America, I mean you can't deny the resemblance there. And I was thinking you would be a great Black Widow - you know, because you're tiny and have reddish hair, and kick ass - and for me…I think I'd be a great Hulk personally. Or maybe Iron Man, I can't decide."

Petra nodded slowly, trying to picture it. "Are Mike and Nanaba going to come out with us too?" she asked, referring to two of Hanji's lab group members.

"Yeah, I was thinking Thor for Mike, and Nanaba would be great as Hawkeye."

"What about Loki?" asked Petra. "We can't really be the Avengers without the villain."

Hanji thought about this for a moment, pacing around Petra's room for a good five minutes. "I've got it!" she exclaimed finally. "Levi can be Loki!"

Petra couldn't help but burst out laughing. "He'll never agree to it, Hanji. I mean, can you imagine? He hates stuff like that."

"He'll do it if _you_ ask him," said Hanji, a devilish smile on her face.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I think you know exactly what it means. He practically lives at Java Joe's - probably just to see you, and he spent the night here a few weeks ago!" Hanji proclaimed.

"He didn't really spend the night, we just fell asleep watching a movie! We were completely wasted, Hanji. If you want, I can show you. I've still got the pizza lasagna video on my phone." Petra whipped out her phone, pulling up the video.

"You can deny it all you want, Petra, but you like him," teased Hanji.

"What is this, middle school?" retorted Petra. "I'm allowed to have guy friends. Just like you and Erwin are _friends_."

"Oh, don't even go there," muttered Hanji. "But please, ask him to be Loki! It would really make our group costumes work."

Petra rolled her eyes, wondering how Hanji could be so persuasive.

* * *

"You want me to do _what_?"

"Dress up as Loki for Halloween?" The words stumbled out of her mouth as more of a question than an answer. "Hanji really wants you to…"

Levi was at his usual corner table at Java Joe's, attempting to create two new fonts for his typography class before they were due at midnight. So far it wasn't going very well - the brats had made another appearance (Eren had almost knocked over his coffee again), and the cafe had been horrendously loud all night, making any sort of concentration impossible. And now, Petra was over here asking him to dress up for Halloween. In a shitty group costume, no less.

"Petra, I haven't dressed up for Halloween since elementary school. Besides, I hate superhero movies."

"But you'd be a villain, not a superhero," she pointed out. "That makes it better, right?"

He looked at her skeptically. "Why are we doing this at all? Erwin has done it with her every year that I've known him, and I've never understood it."

"She loves Halloween, Levi. It's her favorite holiday," explained Petra. "Come on, would it really kill you to go along with it?"

He sighed a bit over-dramatically, running a hand through his hair. "Ugh, fine, I guess I'll just get shitfaced anyway, and then it won't matter what I'm wearing."

Petra beamed. "I'm going to text Hanji right now and tell her you agreed to do it. So you can't back out later."

Levi rolled his eyes, wondering what the hell he had actually gotten himself into.

* * *

Petra stood in front of the mirror, trying to decide what else she could add to her Black Widow costume. She wore a pair of black faux leather leggings, a long sleeved, formfitting v-neck shirt, and black boots with a 5-inch heel, making her about the same height as Hanji, who had stepped into view next to her. Petra spun around, trying to adjust the belt holding the fake gun that was strapped to her waist.

"Damn girl, you look hot," said Hanji, who was also dressed in black, donning an eyepatch and a black leather trench coat - at the last minute, she had decided to go as Nick Fury instead of Iron Man.

"You look pretty hot yourself," said Petra, winding a lock of hair around her curling iron. "I mean, as hot as someone wearing an eyepatch can look."

Hanji smiled, taking a second glance Petra's choice of footwear. "I think you should lose the boots," she suggested. "Otherwise you'll be taller than Levi."

Petra giggled at the thought."And why would I care about that?"

"He's your date, right? It's awkward if the girl is taller than the guy."

"Wait, _what_?" Petra put down the curling iron. "I thought we were just going to Erwin's to hang out, who said anything about dates?"

"Oh, relax, I'm just messing with you. You guys are just _friends_," laughed Hanji. "But seriously, we're walking there, you're not going to want those heels."

Petra sighed, pulling off the heeled boots and changing them out for a pair of calf length black riding boots.

"Come on, Petra, we don't have all night," whined Hanji. "I want to see all the cute little kids trick-or-treating!"

Petra took a final glance in the mirror, fluffing her hair and re-adjusting her belt. "Okay, ready to go. Just let me go next door and get Levi. He probably won't come unless we physically drag him."

Hanji laughed. "You might be right about that."

* * *

In the end, Petra did have to physically drag Levi out of his apartment.

"Why can't we just stay here?" he had protested. "We can get shit-faced right here in my living room. I just found a Game of Thrones drinking game, we could do that."

"Stop being a butt," Petra had retorted, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the door.

But now that they were at Erwin's, she was in the corner talking to some of her friends from school, Rico and Anka, and he was sitting on Erwin's futon drinking cheap, shitty beer. The sooner that he could forget the awful costume he was wearing and the ridiculous number of group photos that he had been subjected to, the better.

Hanji plopped down next to him. "Are you trying to give yourself liver cancer?" she asked, only half-joking. "I don't think I've seen you without a drink in your hand all night."

"Fuck off, shitty glasses," he retorted. Hanji wasn't even wearing her glasses due to the eyepatch; he just liked to be an asshole.

"Levi, it's Halloween, stop being a grump." She took a sip of the wine cooler she was holding. "Besides, you're just going to be hungover and miserable tomorrow if you keep this up."

He sighed, staring down at the floor. "Why did she even ask me to come?" he wondered aloud.

"Petra?" Hanji paused, and Levi could tell she was holding something back. After about a minute, she offered "You guys are friends, so she wanted you to come. Plus, I wanted this group costume to work."

"Friends," Levi repeated. "Well, I'm going to go tell my shitty _friend_ that I'm getting the hell out of here." He rose from the futon, which required quite a bit of effort. The combination of beer and liquor that he'd been consuming nonstop for the last two hours certainly wasn't doing him any favors right now.

"Levi, wait." Hanji reached for his arm in an attempt to drag him back to the futon, but he shook her off, storming over to the corner where Petra was chatting with Mike and Nanaba.

"I'm leaving," he informed her coldly, trying to keep his composure so she wouldn't realize how sloppy he was right now.

She studied him, noticing that he was anxiously wringing his hands and struggling to keep his balance. "You're totally shit-faced right now, aren't you?"

"None of your goddamn business." He was doing his best to be douchey and aloof, but she knew that he didn't really mean it. The combination of having to deal with people and copious amounts of alcohol was never a good one for Levi.

Petra sighed, taking his hand and leading him into the pantry, away from everyone else huddled in the living room and kitchen. "Levi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm leaving," he repeated in his deadpan tone.

She was still holding his hand, his palm warm in hers. "If you really want to leave, I'll come with you," she offered. "You're way too out of it to be on your own right now."

"I'm fine," he insisted. "You should stay…you're having fun."

Instead of answering, she simply led him over to the closet where they left their coats. "Come on, we're going home."

* * *

"Fuck." He fumbled with the locked door of his apartment, finally figuring out which one of the five keys on the keyring actually opened the deadbolt. "I do this every goddamn time."

Petra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're kind of a lightweight and it seems like you would have figured that out by now."

"Hey, at least I'm not rolling around on the floor," he retorted.

"Ugh, you're impossible." She turned to her own door, digging through her bag for her keys.

"You're not coming in?" he asked, confused.

"I didn't think you wanted me to," she replied honestly. "You've kind of been a dick since the night started."

"I'm drunk, Petra, what do you expect?"

"That's not an excuse." She paused, looking at the keys in her hand, and then back to Levi. This was quite possibly the most disheveled she had ever seen him - there were always bags under his eyes, but tonight they seemed especially prominent. His eyes were bloodshot as well, and his typically perfect posture had been replaced by a lazy slouch against the doorframe of his apartment. The Loki costume that Hanji had rigged up for him had been mostly discarded while they were still at Erwin's, so now he only wore black jeans and a thin black long-sleeved shirt, quite a contrast to his slightly pretentious hipster outfits. Finally, she spoke. "Okay, I'll come in for a little bit, at least to make sure that you drink enough water."

* * *

An hour later, he was falling asleep next to her on the couch, where they were re-watching the first season of Dexter.

"You should go get in bed." His head rested against her shoulder, close enough that she could smell smell laundry soap and a vague musky aroma, like a subtle cologne, along with a tinge of alcohol still left on his breath.

"The episode isn't over yet," he pointed out, sitting up only slightly.

"Levi, this is the third time you've dozed off on me in the last fifteen minutes." Petra attempted to shrug him off her shoulder without success.

"My neck hurts," he complained. "Probably from that stupid costume that Shitty Glasses had me wearing."

She chuckled slightly at his nickname for Hanji. "If I give you a neck massage, will you go to bed?"

Levi considered this. "Okay," he finally agreed.

He said nothing as she gently caressed his neck with her soft, slender fingers, gradually applying more pressure. The only sound she heard from him was a soft moan when she threaded her fingers through his soft black hair, her fingernails barely touching his scalp. By the time the episode was over, his deep, even breathing told her that he was sound asleep.

Petra debated going back to her own apartment, but she had to admit lying here with his head on her shoulder was nice. Her little crush on Levi had been growing over the past few weeks, despite her best attempts to deny it. She had no idea if he felt the same way about her, but for now, she could stroke the nape of his neck, play with his hair, and otherwise pretend they were a real couple.

"Goodnight, Levi," she whispered, placing a light kiss to his temple before she, too, drifted off to sleep.


	8. Tickle Monster

Author's Note: _Thank you so much for all of the feedback on the fic! The reason I'm updating so fast is because of all of these reviews/follows/favs!_  
_You guys are the best! :)_

* * *

Petra was having a terrible week, and it was only Wednesday. In the space of three days, she had failed a music theory exam (48 percent), managed to spill water on her laptop (now it wouldn't turn on), lost her bus pass (fifty dollars for a new one), and her supposedly spill-proof coffee mug had decided to leak all over the inside of her backpack.

She had just returned home from another closing shift at Java Joe's - it was well after midnight and she was exhausted from dealing with irate customers and cleaning up other people's messes. Petra reached into her backpack for her keys, digging around for a good five minutes before realizing that she'd left them in the employee bathroom at work.

_No big deal,_ she tried to reassure herself. _Hanji's got to be home this late at night…_

She knocked on the door. "Hanji?" she called. "I don't have my keys, let me in."

Hearing no response, Petra pulled out her phone and called her roommate…only to hear the faint ringtone of the phone from within the apartment.

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath, tears welling up in her eyes. Everything that had gone wrong this week was her fault in one way or another, and she had finally reached a breaking point. Not knowing what else to do, she sat down on the grimy carpeting that covered the hallway, finally succumbing to her emotions and letting the tears fall. Before long, she heard a door opening and looked up, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her jacket.

"Petra?" It was Levi, wearing NYU sweatpants, a fitted black t-shirt, and stereotypical black hipster glasses. She was almost positive that he was pulling an all-nighter, because staying up all night to study was the only exception to his "sweatpants are fucking sloppy" rule. However, she had never seen him in glasses before, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was definitely one of those people that got about ten times more attractive with glasses. And he was already attractive to begin with.

_Shut up, brain!_ she scolded herself internally.

Petra looked up at him, forcing herself to blink away the remaining tears. "Nice glasses, dork."

"Believe it or not, I actually need them to see," he explained. "I just wear contacts most of the time."

She smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell Hanji. She'd probably start calling _you_ Shitty Glasses."

"Thanks." He studied her face, noting her red eyes and the smears of mascara on her cheeks. He knew she had been crying, but didn't want to be an asshole and upset her further by inquiring about it. "You okay?"

"Well…no…" she trailed off. "I guess you could say I'm already having a pretty bad week, and now I'm locked out of my place. Hanji doesn't have her phone on her, and she's probably at the lab, so it could be awhile."

"Why didn't you call me?" he asked.

"I didn't want to bother you, it's almost 1…most normal people would be asleep."

"You should know by now that I'm not normal when it comes to anything, especially sleep," he stated. "Now get your ass in here, I'm not about to let you sleep on that shitty carpeting."

She nodded and followed him into the kitchen, discarding her backpack on the couch in the living room. "Do you have tea?" she asked.

"Just black tea." He pulled out a box of P&G Tips. "It's the only kind I like. I'm more of a coffee person."

"Well, duh," she laughed. "I'll make us some tea."

"Yeah," he said, sitting down at the kitchen table with his laptop. "I've got three logos to design by tomorrow, and I've only got one done so far. I could use the caffeine."

"Do you ever start working on anything earlier than the night before it's due?" she teased.

"Never."

Petra watched him take a create a simple circle, add shading, a bevel effect, and text, transforming it into a simple logo for dish soap.

"Well, obviously you know what you're doing," she stated, pointing to the logo that he had just created. "Now you only have one more to do."

He scoffed. "This is shit," he said, pointing at the logo he'd just created. "Generic, boring, and done a million times already, by someone else."

"It looks fine to me," she protested.

"Believe me, I'd get a really shitty grade on the project if I turned this in." He continued to tweak the logo, layering a triangle over the circle, and changing the color scheme. Meanwhile, Petra poured tea into two spotless white mugs.

She handed him a mug, their fingers brushing for a brief moment.

"Have fun, Mr. Perfectionist," she teased. "I hope you don't mind if I go watch your fancy TV while I drink my tea."

"Go for it," he waved her into the living room without looking up from his laptop.

She was pulling up HBO GO, when he spoke again. "If you think you're going to watch Game of Thrones without me, you're wrong."

"Oh yeah?" she challenged. "I'm pushing play right now."

"You are not."

"Am too!" With that, Petra actually did press play and cranked the volume so that he would hear the recognizable theme from the kitchen.

After the intro was over, she turned the volume down slightly and sank into the couch, slightly disappointed that Levi wasn't going to retaliate.

That disappointment lasted less than a second. Before she could even register what was happening, Levi had ambushed her from behind, forcefully throwing her off the couch and snatching the remote from her hands to turn off the TV.

"Don't. Watch. Without. Me." he growled in his steely tone.

"Oww…" she moaned dramatically from the floor. "Levi, that _hurt_."

In a second, he was leaning down over her, examining the arm that she had used to break her fall. His eyes were full of concern as he gently probed her forearm for signs of injury. "Oh shit, I'm sorry, I was just messing with you…where does it hurt?"

"And now I'm just messing with you." She smacked his arm playfully. "I'm fine, you dork."

For a second, she saw a flash of relief wash over his face, but just as quickly, his features returned to the usual bored expression. "Well, that's what you get for trying to watch without me."

"What, a creepy ninja attack? How did you even do that?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm quiet, I guess." He looked like he was going to say something more, but then thought better of it.

"I actually really want to see this episode," remarked Petra. "Watch with me? Then I promise I'll leave, even if Hanji's not there to let me in."

"I'm not letting you sleep outside your door, Petra," he muttered, considering her proposition. "Alright. _One_ episode, and then I have to get back to homework."

* * *

"Petra. We can't watch another one…it's 2:30, and these logos are due at 8am." Levi reached for the remote.

"But it ended in a cliffhanger!" Petra protested.

"It_ always_ ends in a cliffhanger!"

She swatted his hand away from the remote. "Please? One more?"

"_No._" Levi was exhausted; watching TV had made him drowsy, and the caffeine from the tea didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. However, he was determined to finish homework, even if it meant staying up all night.

"Fine," she pouted. "I'll just go to bed then." She laid down on the couch, covering herself with a fleece blanket and resting her head awkwardly against an overstuffed throw pillow.

"That's not going to be very comfortable," he mused. "Just sleep in my bed. It's memory foam, and I'm not going to sleep in it anyway."

Petra just stared at him for a few seconds before answering. "Okay."

She followed him into the bedroom, which was just as tidy as the rest of the house. It was very minimalist, with no photos on the walls, and only four pieces of furniture: his bed, a desk, an office chair, and a dresser.

Levi threw a pair of sweats and a white undershirt at her. "Here, wear this stuff, I really don't want your dirty work clothes in my bed."

* * *

"Ugghhh." Petra groaned as she awoke to her phone alarm, which she had forgotten to turn off last night. It was the 6:30 alarm, the one that she set when she had 8 AM classes or work shifts. As she reached over to turn it off, it dawned on her that she was not in her own room, or even wearing her own clothes. Gradually, the memories of last night came back… She rolled over to get out of bed, but to her surprise, Levi was laying next to her on top of the covers, his clothes wrinkled, and hair a complete mess. His t-shirt had ridden up enough to expose a strip of his pale stomach and his hip bones, which Petra couldn't help but stare at.

She shook him gently, knowing that he'd have to get up soon for his 8 AM class anyway. "Levi, wake up," she whispered.

He grunted, rolling over and pressing his face into a pillow.

"Come on, you've got class soon." She started tracing patterns on his back with her index finger.

"I'm fucking tired," he moaned into the pillow. "Give me 10 more minutes."

"You don't have time to sleep for ten more minutes." She moved her fingers to his side, unable to resist touching him. Her hand stayed there for awhile, then moved slightly lower.

Levi began thrashing around, trying to stifle laughter. "Stop it, Petra! I'm fucking ticklish!"

"That's pretty much the worst thing you could tell me," she grinned devilishly, attacking his sides with both hands.

"Goddammit!" he cursed, convulsing wildly as she ticked him relentlessly. "You fucking tickle monster!"

"At least now you're awake," she laughed. As she was about to move her hands over to tickle his stomach, he snatched her wrists, pulling her close and effectively stopping the tickling.

She stared into his gray-blue eyes, which didn't look the least bit sleepy. She could feel his warm breath on her face, some of his messy hair touching her forehead, and suddenly, she was aware of just how much she wanted to kiss him.

"Petra," he whispered, releasing her wrists, and holding her waist instead, his thumbs pressing gently on her hipbones. He was done denying it. He wanted her, right now. No Hanji to interrupt, no alcohol involved, and no shitty Halloween costumes.

He leaned in, about to close the gap between their lips when Petra's phone rang, filling the otherwise silent room with the iPhone "Marimba" tone.

They both froze for a second, the trance of the moment broken.

"Just let me get this." Petra leaned out of his hold, reaching for her phone.

"Hello?...Yes, it is."

She listened for several minutes, her face showing almost no emotion.

"Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up.

"Everything okay?" asked Levi, touching her shoulder.

"My father had a heart attack. He's in critical condition."


	9. Okay

Author's Note: _So remember back in Chapter 8 when I was describing Petra's bad week? Turns out I'm really good at predicting the future, because I ended up spilling a mug of coffee in my bag, and it got on my MacBook (which I've had for less than a month). Long story short, it wouldn't turn on, so I had to send it out to be fixed, which is why it's taken me so long to update. _

_Oh, another fun fact: the computer I had before this one died after I spilled water on it. This is why I can't have nice things._

_ Regarding the medical terminology/surgical procedures in this chapter - I really don't know much about the medical field - I just did some research on WebMD, so let me know if anything seems really off._

_Finally, I really really really appreciate all the reviews/favs/follows I've been getting! Keep it up, guys!_

* * *

Petra stared blankly out the passenger side window, so lost in her own thoughts she barely noticed the glorious reds, oranges, and yellows of the changing autumn leaves.

Since losing her mother to cancer when she was only three, Petra and her father had been very close. He had stepped into the role of both parents, preparing special lunches with handwritten notes, helping with algebra homework, and coming to all of Petra's recitals and concerts. After starting college at NYU, Petra had tried to visit her father in Syracuse as often as possible, and she wrote him emails or called at least once a week. She always pictured him as being lonely, as he still lived in the same house that she had grown up in, and he had even kept her bedroom the same.

A heart attack was the last thing that she would have expected. Her father seemed healthy; he wasn't overweight, he seemed to eat well enough, and he rode his bike to work every day instead of taking the bus.

Petra closed her eyes, hoping that she would wake up to find that the past week was a terrible dream instead of a real life nightmare.

"You okay?" Levi took his eyes off the road for a brief second to look over at her, noticing her closed eyes and hands that were trembling as she tried to hold them still in her lap.

"I'm fine," she lied blatantly, refusing to look at him for fear that she would release the tears that she'd been successfully holding back since she received the call.

Petra could hardly believe that just a few hours ago she had been lying on Levi's bed, feeling happier than she had in weeks, only to have it all come crashing down in mere minutes. After hanging up the phone she had just sat in shock, unable to speak after uttering the words: "he's in critical condition."

Levi had simply pulled her into a hug - a gesture she certainly wasn't expecting from him - and held her for a good ten minutes, stroking her back and finger combing her hair.

Finally she had found her voice. "How am I even going to get there? He's back home in Syracuse and I don't have a car. I certainly can't afford to fly there."

Levi had thought for a moment, still holding her tightly. "I'll call Erwin. He's got an old Ford Escape that he hardly ever drives, but he can't seem to get rid of it. If he lets me use it, I'll drive you there."

"You don't need to drive me," Petra had protested, hating feeling helpless.

In the end, Levi had managed to convince her that she was under too much emotional stress to drive herself, and that he wanted to skip class anyway. Erwin had let them borrow his car, giving Petra a brief pat on the shoulder and promising to have Hanji call her later.

Now Levi was doing at least 85, sometimes 90 on the expressway, speeds that would have made Petra nervous under normal circumstances. But at this point, Petra just wanted to see her father as soon as possible, speeding tickets aside.

She was snapped out of her own thoughts as he spoke again.

"We'll be there soon." Levi's voice was, as always, void of emotional inflection, yet Petra knew that he cared more than he let on.

She nodded, turning back to face out the window, only counting mile markers.

* * *

"Petra." Someone was gently shaking her awake. "We're here…we're at the hospital."

She opened her eyes groggily, finding Levi's hand grazing her shoulder, the warmth from his touch causing heat to radiate through the rest of her body.

She groaned. "I fell asleep?"

"You were out for a good two hours or so." He hadn't removed his hand; now his fingers were stroking the back of her neck, the sensation making her shiver. "It's alright, you're exhausted."

She nodded, unbuckling her seatbelt and grabbing her bag from the backseat. "Are you going to come in with me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Petra." He looked at her incredulously. "Did you really think I _wouldn't_ come in with you? What kind of shitty person would I be?"

She attempted a small smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. Wordlessly, he grabbed her hand, leading her into the hospital lobby.

She approached the secretary at the check-in desk. "I'm Petra Ral, here to see my father, Andrew Ral?"

The woman nodded, typing the name into the computer system. "He's going into surgery," she offered. "You probably won't be able to see him until tomorrow."

Petra's face fell. "Tomorrow?"

"I'll send his doctor down to speak with you now, but I'd advise you to go home and get some rest tonight. It won't do you any good to stay here."

Petra looked thoroughly disappointed, but simply nodded and took a seat in the crowded waiting area, Levi joining her.

Petra looked as though her tears would spill over any minute, swallowing hard to hold them back.

Levi was still holding her hand, gently massaging her fingers. "You'll feel better once you've spoken with his doctor," he said softly, trying to reassure her.

Petra leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder and breathing in his soapy, musky scent. "I'm glad you're here with me," she whispered.

He nodded into her hair, about to reply, when the doctor approached.

"Petra Ral?" he asked. He was a tall man, with long brown hair pulled into a low ponytail and round glasses. "I am Dr. Grisha Jaeger, responsible for your father's care."

Petra nodded, shaking his hand wordlessly.

"Your father is undergoing bypass surgery now. His artery was too blocked to consider an angioplasty, so the surgery was the only way to save his life," explained Dr. Jaeger. "He'll spend tonight in the ICU, but he may be moved to a regular care room tomorrow afternoon. If you leave me your phone number, I will call you as soon as you can see him." He handed her a pad of paper.

"Thank you, doctor," said Petra softly, scribbling her phone number and name.

"I'll be in touch," he said, waving them out the door and back to the car.

* * *

Petra flipped through her keyring, finally finding the key that unlocked the front door of her childhood home. The house was small, a one-story ranch-style house with outdated kitchen fixtures and shag carpeting in the basement. Despite the lack of cosmetic appeal, Petra had always loved that her father never changed anything about the home unless it needed fixing.

As she pushed open the door, she was greeted by the familiar site of the living room with its nondescript white walls, tube TV, and plaid sofa.

"Well, it's not much, but this is it," said Petra, moving out of the doorway. Levi stepped in after her, removing his shoes and throwing his coat on a wall hook.

"This makes me think of the 90s," he mused, surveying the living room.

She pouted. "Well, I happen to like it. Come on, I'll show you the guest room."

She led him to the very end of the hallway to a tiny room with yellow walls. It was small enough that a full-size mattress took up a majority of the room, leaving a bit of space for a stubby dresser and a linen closet.

Levi surveyed the room, dropping his backpack on the bed. "Thanks."

"So, I thought maybe we could order takeout later," suggested Petra. "My dad doesn't really have much food on hand."

"Alright," agreed Levi. "But I need a nap first. I'm going on about an hour and a half of incredibly shitty sleep."

Petra nodded in agreement. "I could use a nap too."

* * *

Petra had been tossing and turning in her bed for the past hour, unable to fall asleep. Despite feeling exhausted emotionally, she couldn't get her brain to stop imagining worse-case scenarios. What if her father died in surgery? What if there were other complications? What if he recovered this time and just had another heart attack later? The tears were beginning to leak out of her eyes; she was finally ready to cry after putting up an "I'm fine" front all day. Before long, she was outright sobbing, gasping for breath as she buried her face in a pillow to muffle the sounds.

She was so upset that she didn't hear the click of the door as it was slowly pushed open.

"Petra?"

Levi sat down next to her on the bed, smoothing the wrinkled sheets. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "You're the last person in the world that deserves this."

She sat up to face to him, too upset to feel self-conscious about her red eyes and stuffy nose.

"I just want to know that it's going to be okay," she choked out. "I'm not ready to lose him."

Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her tears creating damp spots on the neck of his shirt.

He returned the hug, his fingers softly caressing the small of her back. "It's going to be okay."

"How can you know that?" she sputtered, clearly frustrated. "You're just saying it to make me feel better."

He held her tighter. "All that you can do right now is hope for the best."

She shook her head. "I just want this to be over."

"Me too. This is fucking horrible," he murmured, his lips grazing the top of her head.

She shifted out of his arms to lie down on the bed. "It needs to be over," she repeated.

He laid down next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "It will be."

She nodded and closed her eyes, cuddling closer to him as she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.


	10. Tattoo

Author's Note: _Um, warning for mentions of abuse, maybe? Oh also, Petra noticed Levi's tattoo back in Chapter 2, but didn't know what it was at the time._

* * *

"Petra, it's almost nine." The flat voice sounded distant, although she knew he couldn't be far; she could feel the added weight causing the mattress to sink more than usual.

"What?" she mumbled groggily. "At night, or in the morning?"

"Night." Levi sat at the foot of her bed, fiddling with the duvet cover.

She grabbed her phone from the bedside table, checking it for missed calls. There was nothing except for a single text message from Hanji that read: I love you, call me!

She sighed, realizing that she just didn't have the energy to talk about her father right now, even to Hanji. She set her phone back on the table, resolving to call Hanji tomorrow. "So we were napping for four hours?"

He nodded, his fingers occupied with texting someone, presumably Erwin. "You needed to sleep."

"I guess." Petra remembered now why she hated naps. It always seemed that she would plan on napping for half an hour or so and somehow it would end up being much longer than she originally intended.

Her stomach growled loudly, and she realized that she hadn't eaten all day. She scooted down the bed to sit next to Levi. "Do you still want to order some takeout?"

He shrugged. "I suppose I should eat something," he mused. "The only thing I've really had today was shitty gas station coffee."

"You never eat," she nagged.

"I'm just never very hungry," he offered. "And food is expensive as fuck."

"Well then let me buy dinner," she countered. "Come on, you've bought things for me before." They had been to movies a couple of times over the last few weeks and sometimes they went to concerts on weekends. Levi often offered to pay for both of them, and despite Petra's protests, he usually got away with it.

He paused, considering her proposal. "Fine," he finally conceded, rolling his eyes. "Don't order anything weird."

* * *

Empty takeout boxes littered the living room, the remnants of chicken lo mein, egg rolls, and stir-fried rice left inside. Light from the TV flickered in the background, illuminating a few grains of rice that had spilled on the carpet.

Levi eyed the mess, itching to get up, throw the containers away, and vacuum the floor. Unfortunately (or was it fortunately?), Petra had shamelessly curled her body into his, making movement difficult. Her face was tucked into the crook of his neck, her fingers gently tapping rhythms into the palm of his left hand. She had stopped paying attention to the movie they were half-watching long ago, probably when he draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest.

It was nearly 3am, and Levi was beginning to feel tired again, despite the over-long nap earlier.

"Let's go to bed," he murmured into her hair. "Don't you want to be up early in case the doctor calls?"

She stopped playing with his hand, instead moving her fingers to his inner wrist, lightly stroking it with her fingernails. "What's your tattoo?" she asked, ignoring his suggestion. Curiously, she touched the the small design, which appeared to be some kind of wings layered over another shape.

He paused. He was about to utter the words "it's personal", but hesitated as he looked down into her amber eyes, oddly vacant and empty. Petra had allowed him to see her at her lowest, most vulnerable point without hesitation. He sighed, deciding he owed her some explanation.

"I drew it. It's supposed to signify freedom," he explained, tracing the outline of the tattoo with his fingertips. It depicted two wings crossed over a shield, one shaded black, the other left unfilled.

"Freedom?" She looked slightly confused.

He sighed. "I'm not like you, Petra."

She studied his profile, his long, straight nose, well-defined chin, and high cheekbones. His eyes were focusing hard on the clock on the wall, although she knew it was only because he didn't want to look at her.

"How so?" she asked, her voice somewhere between its normal volume and a whisper. He didn't respond, his eyes still fixated on the wall clock. "Please, I'm here to listen," she added.

Without facing her, he answered. "I was a foster kid."

"Oh, so you lived with a family, then," she thought aloud.

The vacant expression turned to a grimace. "No."

His voice was gritty, verging on sounding outright angry. "I didn't have a family. I had a shitty old man that drank every night and then beat the shit out of people. Usually I was one of them." He lifted his shirt, revealing a long, thin scar on his side, about halfway up his torso. "He came at me with a fucking box cutter when I was ten."

Petra's eyes fixated on the scar, trying to avoid the dark glint in Levi's eyes. "That's terrible," she said, still refusing to meet his eyes.

"It wasn't bad at first. But then his wife died and then he started drinking, and then he was nearly killing people." He looked down at the floor. "I had foster siblings, too. He did it to all of us, and we tried to report him, but he was so _fucking_ good at putting on a show for the social worker."

"I'm sorry," whispered Petra, clasping Levi's hand in her own.

"He made us do things for him. Shoplift, lie, cheat, steal money. Whatever he wanted. If we didn't do it, he'd just dig his cigarette into someone's arm." He pulled up his sleeve, revealing a long trail of burn scars on his forearm. They were dark, ugly things, and Petra didn't understand how she had never noticed them until now.

"I got good at lying about all of it though. I just pretended I was clumsy as fuck."

"Levi, that's not okay. You should have gone to the police!" Petra exclaimed, squeezing his hand tighter.

"Oh, well get this: he worked for the fucking police." Levi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sometimes I was actually afraid he would kill me. I finally got out at eighteen, and that's when I decided to get the tattoo. I just wanted something to symbolize that he couldn't fucking have me anymore."

Petra pulled him into a hug without thinking twice, tears brewing in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I feel bad that I even asked."

He pressed his face against her shoulder. "It's alright."

"I can't believe people like that really exist."

"They do," he whispered. "It's more common than you'd think."

She gently ran her fingers up and down Levi's back, the two of them sitting quietly for several minutes. His eyes were closed, and he looked so peaceful that Petra thought he might have fallen asleep.

She jumped a little when he finally spoke, breaking the comfortable silence. "I need to go to bed."

"Me too," whispered Petra. "I'm going to set an alarm for eight. I want to be awake if Dr. Jaeger calls."

"Okay." He staggered tiredly to the guest room, speaking a final time before shutting the door. "Thanks for listening, Petra."

* * *

The drive to the hospital was dark and dreary; the sun hadn't fully risen yet, and the humidity was near 100%, making Petra feel sticky and damp. It had rained hard during the night, and was still lightly misting, giving the roadways a delicate sheen.

She sipped on a cup of black, mediocre 7-11 coffee, trying to focus on anything other than Dr. Jaeger's news. Her father had survived surgery, but had a few complications and was expected to stay in the ICU for a few more hours.

"We'll be there in about five minutes," Levi spoke from the driver's side, taking a long sip of his own coffee.

Petra didn't answer, still lost in thought, her eyes staring blankly out the window.

"He's going to be alright, Petra."

She was wringing her hands nervously. "I just want to see him. I just want to talk to him and know that's he's alright."

Levi sighed, reaching over to gently squeeze her shoulder. "We'll be there soon," he repeated.

* * *

It was nearly three in the afternoon, and they had been sitting in the cold, dingy waiting room for seven hours, still waiting for Petra's father to be released from the ICU. Petra thumbed through People magazine for the third time, glancing over at Levi, who appeared to be napping.

She was about to go speak with an orderly again to see if there were updates on her father's condition when Dr. Jaeger stepped through the set of double doors that led to patient rooms.

"Miss Ral?" he spoke, scribbling something on the charts on his clipboard.

Petra rose from her seat, trying to keep her hands from fidgeting.

"Your father has been released from the ICU, and he is conscious." Petra let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "However, he will need to sleep for most of today, so you may see him now, but it is essential that you allow him to rest when he dozes off."

"Yes, doctor."

Dr. Jaeger nodded."You may follow me to his room, now. It's just down this hall."

She nudged Levi's knee. "Hey, get up, we can go see him now."

He nodded groggily, allowing her to grab his hand and tug him along as she followed Dr. Jaeger down the narrow hallway.

As the approached the door with Andrew Ral stuck in the nameplate, Dr. Jaeger spoke again: "Remember, the surgery took a lot out of him, he's probably going to fall asleep again pretty soon."  
"Okay," said Petra in a small voice as she pushed open the door.

Her father sat half-upright in bed, looking slightly pale, but not too bad otherwise. He wore a hospital gown that was bunched up slightly in the front from the large bandage on his chest.

"Petra!" he cried from the bed, his voice surprisingly strong.

She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay, daddy," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Levi stood awkwardly in the doorway, thinking of his own "father" and how lucky Petra was to have a real relationship with hers.

Andrew Ral pulled back to get a better look at his daughter. "Oh, Petra, you never mentioned that you had a boyfriend," he commented, finally noticing Levi in the doorway.

They spoke at the same time.

"He's not my-"

"We're not-"

Petra blushed, and Levi stared at the floor.

"This is Levi, he's my neighbor, and one of my best friends," said Petra finally. "He drove me here."

_Best friend?_ The term was foreign to his ears. Levi didn't think he'd ever been anyone's best friend.

He approached Petra's father, offering his hand. "Good to meet you, sir," he said, shaking Andrew's hand firmly.

"You as well. Thank you for driving my daughter here."

Levi nodded. "Not a problem at all, sir."

He watched Petra and Andrew converse about everything and anything - the weather, NYU, Andrew's woodworking hobby - for nearly half an hour. Levi barely said two words, mostly just watching the scene before him and wondering what his life would have been like with a father like Andrew.

"Petra, honey, I'm feeling tired." said Andrew finally. "The doctor says that I need to sleep to get better."

"Of course, daddy." Petra kissed his cheek, before picking up her bag and walking over to the doorway. "We'll come back tomorrow, you just rest."

As they walked out of the hospital together, Petra turned to face Levi. "Hey, sorry about that comment that he made. I guess he just assumed we were dating."

"Um…" Levi looked down at the floor again. "That's okay. Easy mistake."

She smiled, but it was forced and awkward. "So, back to the house?"

He nodded, thinking back over the past couple of days. They were certainly more than "friends", even "best friends", he knew that much. He was pretty sure that even best friends didn't cuddle each other all weekend, or sleep in the same bed.

He sighed, wondering how telling her about his past could be easier than a simple "I like you."


	11. He's Just Not That Into You

_Author's Note: I hope you guys have seen/read He's Just Not That Into You. It's a hilarious book and a fantastic movie :)_

* * *

"So…are you two like, a thing now?" Hanji was in the middle of another cooking experiment, although this time she had decided to experiment with baking and had a batch of "healthy" chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

Petra fiddled with her phone, deleting a few text messages. In the two weeks since her father had been released from the hospital, she was still getting inquiries from her extended family about his condition. Although Andrew was on bed rest for another week, Dr. Jaeger said he would be back to normal within a month or so.

"I don't know. We keep having these weird moments, but then nothing happens."

"Petra, he likes you." Erwin spoke from the other end of the table. "I've known Levi for five years now, and I've never seen him talk to someone as much as he talks to you, let alone the way that he looks at you. He drove you to Syracuse. He went to the hospital with you. I'm not sure he would even do those things for me."

"Well then why doesn't he just ask me out?" she blurted, frustrated. "If he likes me, the logical thing to do would be to ask me out."

"Maybe he's scared," suggested Hanji.

"I don't think so," mused Erwin. "I think he might be uncomfortable with his feelings and want you to make the first move, Petra."

"Well that's not happening." Petra snapped. "Haven't you guys seen He's Just Not That Into You?"

Erwin sighed, "It's a chick flick, isn't it?"

"Well…yes, but the point of it is, that if a guy wants to date a girl, he'll make it happen. If he doesn't, then he's just not that into her."

"Petra, I think you're oversimplifying things a little bit." Hanji spoke from the other side of the kitchen, where she was pulling a tray of cookies from the oven. It looked like they had spread out a little bit too much, creating a giant cookie blob.

"Oh really?"

"He's not a typical guy," added Erwin. "He's very reserved, he barely talks to me, one of his closest friends. He hasn't had the easiest life. You've got to consider that."

"Whatever." Petra flipped her hair over one shoulder. "I'm not making the first move. I never have before and things have worked out fine."

"Petra, you've dated like two people!" cried Hanji as she attacked the cookie blob with a spatula, attempting to break it into smaller pieces. "That's nothing."

"You guys are impossible sometimes," she muttered, not wanting to admit that Hanji had a point.

"Well, you're both invited to Second Thanksgiving," said Erwin. "You can figure it out there."

"Second Thanksgiving?" asked Petra skeptically. "What exactly is that?"

"Well, I figured since everyone always has too many leftovers, we'll just have another Thanksgiving a day or two after the real holiday and eat them." explained Erwin.

"We'll get wasted, too," added Hanji happily. "I was thinking of making some egg nog so we could get an early start on the Christmas festivities."

Erwin and Petra exchanged a look. They both knew how badly Hanji's culinary creations usually turned out, and adding alcohol into the mix sounded like a disaster.

"Um, maybe we should just stick to beer and mixed drinks."

* * *

"Hey, brat, get out of my face!" barked Levi, thoroughly annoyed that children were allowed in Java Joe's.  
Especially children that were Petra's music students.  
Especially children that were Eren fucking Jaeger.

"Levi, how many times have I told you that you can't speak to him that way?"

Petra glared at him, while Eren just gnawed on a cookie as he gathered Armin and Mikasa and headed out the door, probably to go cause trouble somewhere else.

"Maybe if you didn't feed him so much sugar, he wouldn't be so annoying!" he retorted.

"I feed you plenty of sugar. You're annoying." She paused. "Maybe you have a point."

He sighed. "I come here so that I can get work done."

"You live alone," she pointed out. "You could probably get more done in your apartment."

_But you're here…_

The words were close to rolling off his tongue, and he caught himself before they could slip out.

"There's coffee here," he mumbled finally.

"I think it's because you like hanging out with Eren," Petra teased.

Levi swatted at her with the pen in his hand.

She pouted. "You just can't take a joke."

He rolled his eyes as she started wiping down the adjacent table with a rag.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" she asked after a few minutes, her first attempt at friendly conversation.

He glanced up from his laptop. "Probably getting drunk and failing my way through some projects," he said honestly. "You?"

"Probably spending the day being sober and failing at homework," she answered. "Theory is hard."

"You're not going to see your father?"

"No…I couldn't afford the plane ticket, and I'm going to see him at Christmas anyway. Besides, I think my aunt is coming to take him to her house in Connecticut for Thanksgiving."

Levi nodded, turning back to his laptop.

"Wait…if we're both going to be here for Thanksgiving, we might as well do something together."

"Like a date?" said Levi, only half-joking.

Petra blushed slightly. "Um…only if you want it to be."

"Oh, it's a date," he smirked, sipping his coffee.

* * *

Petra had actually made an effort to look nice for tonight, even if they were just going to be cooking dinner in Levi's apartment. (They had deemed Petra's kitchen much too messy- Hanji had a tendency to forget about washing her dishes for weeks on end.)

Petra's hair was curled softly, light makeup applied, and she had swapped out her usual jeans-t-shirt combo for a soft, light blue dress paired with black tights. She stole another quick glance at her phone, finding it odd that Levi hadn't bothered to send her a single text message all day.

_Whatever,_ she thought to herself. _It's not really a date. And I'm __**not**__ making the first move._

She knocked on his apartment door. "Let me in, dork!"

Hearing no response from his apartment, she rapped louder. "Levi, don't be such an asshole."

She waited a few more minutes, still hearing nothing. "If you're not in there at all, this whole thing is over," she muttered to herself.

Finally, the door opened.  
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Levi rubbed his eyes miserably, he was wearing pajamas - a loose v-neck t-shirt and sweats - and obviously hadn't been expecting company.

"Um, we planned to have dinner together because it's Thanksgiving?"

"Shit," he cursed under his breath. "I've had food poisoning for the past two days and I forgot about fucking Thanksgiving."

Petra sighed, feeling a little pissed that he had forgotten about their plans. However, Levi looked so miserable that she decided reprimanding him now probably wasn't the best course of action.

"It's alright," she said, stepping inside his apartment. "How did you get food poisoning, anyway?"

"I was stupid enough to eat something that Hanji made."

Petra winced. Although Hanji's cooking experiments were usually harmless, once and a while she ended up doing some damage. She had a tendency to ignore expiration dates.

"That's rough," she sympathized. "Do you need anything done as long as I'm here? Like, I can wash your floors, or dust all of these empty shelves, or whatever else it is that your crazy OCD demands."

He half-smiled, looking slightly less miserable. "Actually, you could just sit and watch Game of Thrones with me. I haven't kept up on the new season because I knew you'd be mad if I watched it without you."

"That sounds perfect. We'll spend our Thanksgiving watching people get beheaded and impaled."

"Yeah, that's us."

* * *

This was by far the strangest Thanksgiving that Petra had experienced in her twenty-one years. She hadn't eaten a huge meal, she wasn't surrounded by family, and she wasn't being forced to endure watching a football game. And yet, this was perfect in its own way; watching a gory TV show and cuddling on the couch with her sick…best friend? Well, a best friend with cuddling benefits.

When had she started thinking of him like that? As she thought back over the past couple of months she couldn't pinpoint any exact moment; it had just happened. Somewhere amongst the drunken nights, witty banter, and constant teasing, he had become one of her closest friends, as close as Hanji.

And while she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want more, Petra was terrified of losing the close friendship that they had.

She leaned into Levi's chest, running her fingers along his forearm. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess," he muttered, his voice heavy. "I'm just really tired."

"Watch one more? Then go to bed?" she asked.

He nodded, resting his head on her shoulder.

By ten minutes in, Levi was already asleep.

Petra groaned; his weight was putting her arm to sleep. She pushed him into a sitting position. "Levi, you're sick, just go to sleep."

"Fine," he mumbled, leaning back on her shoulder. "Goodnight."

"No, in your bed." She stood up, grabbing ahold of his wrist and tugging him upright. "Come on, it's late."

He followed her to his bedroom, allowing himself to be dragged all the way before collapsing on his bed. Petra laid down on the bed next to him, telling herself that she was just going to stay until Levi fell asleep.

"Goodnight, Levi," she whispered.

He responded by rolling onto his side and grabbing one of her hands, entwining his fingers with hers. Surprised, she turned to face him, not realizing how close he was. Even in the darkness, she could make out his sharp, handsome features, his closeness causing her to blush slightly.

_Oh no, this is just like all the other times,_ she thought to herself.

"You're so fucking beautiful," he whispered.

The statement had caught her way, way off guard. He never said things like that. She couldn't think of a single time he'd used the word beautiful to refer to anything.

As Petra was about to respond with a sarcastic comment, he caught her face in his palm, softly caressing her lips with his thumb. "I wish I wasn't sick right now," he said softly. "I want to fucking kiss you, Petra."

Her eyes went wide, her brain completely shutting down. She half-wondered if this was some kind of bizarre dream. "Um…" she stammered.

Levi continued to run his thumb over her lips, refusing to break eye contact. "I've wanted to kiss you for a long time," he admitted in an uncharacteristically small voice.

Petra swallowed hard, thinking about all of their moments together in the past months, all of the teasing, the conversations about everything and anything, and the comfort that they had found in each other.

_I guess it's now or never._

"Then kiss me."

She spoke the words in a breathy whisper, barely audible even in the silent room.

Closing her eyes, she felt the pressure from his thumb leave her mouth, only to be replaced by his warm lips, slightly chapped, but still causing a pleasant tingling sensation to resonate through her entire body. He was careful and deliberate, yet demanding, as she felt him tug gently on her bottom lip.

She pulled back for a brief second before catching his lips with hers again, kissing him harder this time. She threw her arms around his neck, pulling her body flush against his. He threaded a hand through her hair, while the other rested on her waist, rubbing soft circles against her hipbone with his thumb.

Petra honestly couldn't remember a time that a kiss had felt this good.


	12. Second Thanksgiving

The room was completely illuminated by warm sunlight when Petra woke up, feeling cozy and content. She was still wearing her clothes from last night; the dress was wrinkled and her tights had a large run. She shifted to check the time on her phone, thinking that it had to be at least mid-morning, but Levi's arm tugged her against his chest, which was warm and solid against her back.

She felt him press his lips against the nape of her neck, sending tingles down her spine. "Go back to sleep," he said softly.

"Mmm…" She considered his tempting request. She didn't have much to do today, as classes were cancelled for the holiday and she had no intentions of going Black Friday shopping. Although she hated being lazy, if any time could be the exception it was certainly now.

She shifted in his arms, turning to face him. "Okay," she murmured, kissing his jaw.

He responded by holding her tighter and kissing down her neck. Petra moaned softly, leaning into his touch.

"I can't believe this is real," she muttered softly.

"Neither can I." He kissed her softly, and she could feel his lips form a slight smile. "What would you like to do today?"

"Well, it's going to look weird if we show up at this whole 'Second Thanksgiving' thing tomorrow without any leftovers," mused Petra.

"Are you seriously suggesting cooking?"

"I'm a good cook!"

"You're a good baker," he corrected, ignoring the look of mock hurt on her face. "But I'm sure you're a better cook than Hanji. At least I've never gotten food poisoning from anything you made."

"Speaking of that, how are you feeling?" she asked, concerned.

"Alright." He traced his fingers over her collarbones. "But I'd feel better if you made me some coffee."

"I'd feel better if we didn't leave this bed all day," she countered.

"I think that can be arranged."

* * *

"Levi! You're supposed to peel the potatoes before you boil them!"

In the end, they had decided to get out of bed, simply because they were starving and too broke to order takeout. Plus, it seemed strange not to have a Thanksgiving meal, even if it was technically the day after Thanksgiving.

"Well you could have fucking told me that!"

"I assumed that was common knowledge," Petra sighed. "Have you ever cooked anything before?"

He sighed. "Does ramen count?"

"Definitely not," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "Maybe I should do the cooking, and you can go dick around on your laptop, work on your homework or something."

Levi stepped closer to her, reaching out to brush back a few strands of her hair that were loose around her face. "But I can help."

Petra leaned in, brushing her nose against his. "You can help by staying out of the way."

He pouted, snaking his arms around her waist. "Fine. But I want a kiss first."

"Nope." She wiggled out of his grasp, running back to the stove to check on the gravy.

"Please?" he was right behind her again, his breath hot on her neck. His fingers wrapped around her waist, one hand reaching up to stoke her hair. Petra whirled around to face him, to tell him to go away teasingly, but he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers before she got the chance.

"Mmmph," she grunted as he pushed her against the adjacent wall, his tongue running along her bottom lip.

She decided to surrender, opening her mouth to him and wrapping her arms around his neck as one of his hands started caressing her thigh.

Suddenly, there was a violent pop, and Petra realized that something was definitely burning.

"The gravy!" she cried, running over to the stove. "Look what you made me do!"

"You kissed me back!" Levi argued, walking over to inspect the mess. Gravy was everywhere: the cupboards, the entire stovetop, the side of the refrigerator…some had even made its way up to the ceiling.

She smiled sheepishly. "It could be worse. Imagine if it was tomato sauce."

"Are you joking? This is fucking gross, I don't even like gravy."

Petra sighed, placing the pot of burned, sticky gravy in the sink. "Well good, because it looks like we're having plain mashed potatoes."

"This whole Thanksgiving thing is overrated, anyway," he insisted.

"Well, we still have to bring something for tomorrow, if we don't it will look suspicious."

"What, they might guess that we spent all day in bed together instead of eating a big ass meal?"

She smiled, stepping closer to him and leaning her forehead against his. "Something like that."

* * *

"I don't think we should tell them."

Petra glared at him. "Are you embarrassed to be with me or something?"

"No, of course not," Levi said quickly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I just think it would be funny to mess with them tonight. See how long it takes them to figure it out."

She smiled deviously. "That could be fun, I guess. Hanji and Erwin have been bugging me about you for weeks."

Levi smirked as he knocked on the door to Erwin's apartment.

"Hey guys!" Hanji threw open the door. She held some kind of craft beer in her hand, and judging from the way she was stumbling around, it definitely didn't seem to be her first drink of the evening. "Follow me to the kitchen, we're eating in five."

Petra set the grocery bag of food down on the table, pulling out the mashed potatoes, slightly lumpy and with skins, a bag of slightly wilted salad mix, and a homemade pumpkin pie that was still a little warm.

"Are those supposed to be mashed potatoes? And where's the gravy?" asked Hanji, peering into the bag to see that it was empty.

Levi glared at her darkly. "There is no gravy," he said in a deadpan voice.

"Why not?"

"Long story! Hey, Hanji, do you need help with anything?" asked Petra, attempting to change the subject, as Levi helped himself to a big glass of Erwin's most expensive scotch.

"Could you pull some stuff out of the oven for me?" shouted Hanji from the living room, where she was trying to coax Mike and Erwin away from some kind of bizarre war strategy board game (turned drinking game, no doubt) and into the kitchen.

"Of course!" Petra opened the oven, a large cloud of smoke hitting her in the face. "Um…Hanji? I don't think that's a turkey anymore."

"Shit!" Hanji examined a beer-splattered recipe card on the table. "I guess it said 350, not 530…oh well, we can just eat your pie, right?"

Petra smiled. "Of course. I had a feeling something like this might happen."

* * *

"Levi! They're going to notice!" Petra hissed, hoping that the noise from the TV would cover her voice.

"I don't care," he whispered back, kissing her forehead softly, while his hand moved up her thigh, which was covered by a fleece blanket.

She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing contently when he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders.

"I'm kind of tired." She closed her eyes briefly, savoring his warmth and the feel of his arm tugging her against his chest.

"Me too," he muttered. "Is it still raining, or can we get out of here?"

"Still raining pretty hard. Maybe Erwin will let us take his car and we could just bring it back tomorrow," she suggested.

Levi stood up abruptly, walking over to where Erwin was sprawled on the sofa, his arm not-so-subtly around Hanji's shoulders. "Lemme borrow your car."

"It's not like you live that far away. Just walk."

"We don't have an umbrella," Petra interjected. "I promise we'll bring the car back first thing tomorrow."

Erwin sighed, digging the keys out of his pocket. "Alright, but Petra, don't let him drive. He's had too much to drink tonight."

"Deal."

* * *

"I had a really good time tonight," remarked Petra as she tuned the car radio to a pop station. "I mean, other than the burned turkey disaster."

Levi nodded, leaning back against the seat. "I need to go to bed."

"Alright, well it's not far, we'll be there soon." Petra put the wipers on full blast, hoping that she'd be able to see through the torrential rain.

She pulled up to an intersection, the light turning from yellow to red just as she slammed on the brake.

"Shit!" The car hydroplaned, spinning a full 180 as it skidded into the intersection, an oncoming car slamming into the driver's side door. The sound of metal crunching, clashing in the most horrific way was all that Levi could hear as both cars finally came to a stop.

"Petra! Fuck!" Levi scrambled out of his seatbelt, climbing over to reach her, grabbing her limp wrist to feel for a pulse.

"Petra! No, fuck, goddammit! Petra!"

Blood was pooling beneath her, and a large gash in her forehead was bleeding profusely as well.

He pulled her into his arms, tears streaming down his face as he yelled every curse word he could think, he screams drowned out by the pouring rain.

* * *

_Author's Note: The last scene was incredibly hard for me to write, which is why it's taken forever for me to update. I actually got in a car accident about 3 months ago with my boyfriend. Luckily neither of us were hurt, by some miracle (we were sideswiped by a semi). But basically, after that incident, car accidents are probably my greatest fear._

_On a happier note, thank you all for the reviews, follows, and favs. :) P.S. I love feedback, whether it's positive or not!_


	13. Wishful Thinking

_Author's Note: Sorry guys, angst ahead._

* * *

"We've been here for almost six hours."

"Levi, she's in surgery. It's going to take awhile for us to hear back," Erwin spoke from the corner of the crowded waiting area. Hanji sat beside him, their hands tightly entwined.

"Fuck. This is all my fault," cursed Levi, finally speaking aloud the thought that had been plaguing him since the accident.

"What, you seriously think that if you were driving this wouldn't have happened?" asked Hanji. "Levi, you were pretty buzzed. If anything, the crash would have been worse, and you'd have a DUI."

"We should have just walked in the rain." He held his face in his hands, shielding his eyes from the stares of strangers around the waiting room.

"Stop it." Erwin stood up, pacing across the small room to the chair that Levi had curled himself into. "It was an _accident_. Accidents happen, and it's no one's fault. You can't blame yourself. I won't let you tear yourself apart like that, Levi."

"Don't act like you fucking understand anything. How would you feel if it was…" Levi almost said Hanji's name, but hesitated, knowing that now wasn't the right time to start _that_ discussion. "Someone you cared about," he finished lamely.

Erwin recoiled in surprise, sitting back down next to Hanji in silence for a few minutes. "I'd feel terrible," he muttered softly. "And I suppose I would blame myself, regardless of what happened."

Levi nodded. "So stop telling me it's not my fault."

* * *

Levi wandered an empty hallway in search of a vending machine, the fluorescent lighting flickering and only intensifying the headache he already felt.

He, Hanji, and Erwin hadn't eaten anything in hours, so he had volunteered to go seek out some form of sustenance. They had already tried the hospital cafeteria, but it was bleak and depressing, and as empty as Levi's chest felt right now.

_At least this is better than watching Hanji and Erwin mentally fuck each other,_ Levi mused as he approached the vending machine at the end of the hall and punched in the code for a pack of mini Oreos.

"Excuse me?" said a deep, slightly familiar voice behind him. "But are you the young man that was with my daughter when she saw me in the hospital a few weeks ago?"

Levi turned around slowly, trying to make his face void of emotion as he faced Andrew Ral. "I am."

"It's unfortunate that we had to meet again so soon under these circumstances," said Andrew softly. "It seems my daughter is very fond of you. She talks to me on the phone quite often, and she's mentioned you nearly every time."

"We're neighbors," muttered Levi, by way of explanation. "We see a lot of each other."

"Petra tells me that you're very kind to her."

Levi looked at the floor instead of meeting Andrew's eyes. "She's a good person. I just try not to be an asshole."

Andrew smiled, oddly serene after hearing that his daughter had been in an accident just several hours ago. "I'm glad that she has such wonderful friends in her life."

"She's lucky to have you." Levi fingered the pack of Oreos in his hand. "I'm sure she'll appreciate that you were able to get here so quickly."

"She's really got her Aunt Susan to thank for that. She's the one that volunteered to drive here at 1am."

"She has a great family," said Levi earnestly, once again reminded of his own pathetic foster father. For a brief moment he wondered if he had any family members that would care if he was in the hospital, let alone visit him.

Andrew nodded. "Well, I'm off to find some coffee, but hopefully we'll see each other later, under better circumstances."

Levi only nodded before turning back to the vending machine to decide if Doritos or Nutter Butter cookies would make a better breakfast.

* * *

"Excuse me?" A nurse tapped Levi on the shoulder. "You three are here for Petra Ral, correct?"

Levi startled and stood up from the uncomfortable waiting room lounge chair, noticing that Hanji and Erwin were already standing beside him, their hands still linked. Andrew was nowhere to be seen, and Levi felt a twinge of guilt that Petra's father wasn't here to hear the news.

"Miss Ral was just released from surgery," the nurse began. "She has a severe concussion, as well as a broken wrist. She also had some internal bleeding, but the surgery was successful in stopping it. Mostly, we are concerned about her memory. From the scans, we can't tell for sure how much damage her brain has sustained. However, there was a lot of swelling, and we had to place her in a medically induced coma until that goes down."

"So you're saying she might not even know who we are?" asked Hanji, a quiver of fear in her voice.

"That's one possibility," answered the nurse frankly. "However, it's also possible that she'll remember everything very clearly. We just won't know until she's out of the coma."

"How long do you intend to keep her in a coma?" asked Levi quietly, trying not to think of Petra lying in a bed with machines keeping her alive.

"Just for another day or so, or until the swelling in her brain goes down. It's the best way for her to heal."

"Can we see her?" pressed Levi.

"She won't be responsive, but if you would like to look in on her, that's alright. Her room is down at the end of this hall." The nurse motioned for them to follow.

Petra was lying in the middle of the bed, her body looking smaller than Levi remembered. She was heavily bruised almost everywhere and a white cast occupied her entire left forearm. Her amber eyes were closed, and her mouth was held open by a tube which connected to a large machine. _A ventilator,_ Levi realized, suddenly feeling the Oreos he had eaten earlier coming back up.

"Hey, Petra," said Hanji softly, walking slowly towards the bed. She hesitated, turning back to look at Erwin and Levi, who were huddled at the edge of the room. "Well, are you going to come see her?"

Levi stared into space, intently studying a small crack in the wall just above Petra's bed to avoid eye contact, while Erwin just shrugged, finally deciding to join Hanji at the bedside.

"She doesn't even look like the same person," whispered Erwin, hoping that Levi wouldn't overhear.

Hanji nodded, motioning Levi over to the bed. "Come on, at least hold her hand."

Levi shook his head, turning to face the doorway. "I think I should go tell her father she's awake," he responded, walking out of the room and down the hall in the direction of the cafeteria.

_God fucking dammit,_ he thought silently, trying to hide his frustration. _I can't even look at her._

He suddenly felt dizzy, and leaned against a wall, hoping that the sensation would pass. Instead, his memory only returned to the accident.

_"Sir, I need you to step out of the vehicle. We need to assess your injuries."_

_"Sir. Please stop touching her. We need to move her as little as possible."_

_Before he could protest, medics rushed in, expertly pulling Petra onto a stretcher and out of Levi's grasp._

_"No! She was fine ten minutes ago. This is a fucking dream…"_

_"Sir, have you been drinking?" The police officer pulled out a breathalyzer._

_Levi stared blankly at driver's seat, the water soaking every crevice of Erwin's ruined Ford Escape._

_"Sir?"_

_"If I would have driven this never would have happened!"_

"Shit, again?" Levi cursed aloud, the trance broken.

"Levi?" Andrew Ral had just walked through the double doors of the cafeteria and was holding a steaming cup of green tea. "Are you okay?"

"She's in a coma - medically induced," he muttered softly. "And I can't even look at her. This is all my fault."

"Please don't say such things." Andrew took a tentative sip of his steaming tea. "Accidents are just that - accidents. I know that you care deeply about my daughter, anyone could tell just from a glance."

Levi looked up, cautiously making eye contact with Andrew for the first time.

"However, blaming yourself for an incident that you had no control over won't be of any use to you or to Petra."

Levi shrugged.

"So please, come with me to see my daughter. She needs you."

"Alright," Levi said finally, willing himself to stop throwing himself a pity party, if only for Andrew's sake.

* * *

It was nearly three in the afternoon, marking fifteen hours at the hospital. Levi still refused to leave Petra's bedside, and had taken to holding her unbandaged hand while reading shitty magazines that Hanji threw at him. Andrew had left a few hours ago, hoping to find a hotel room within walking distance of the hospital.

"Levi, don't you think you should go home and shower?" asked Erwin from the doorway.

"I'll go in a bit."

Erwin sighed, taking a sip from the mug of coffee in his hand. "I think Hanji and I are headed out pretty soon, so let me know if you want anything from your apartment."

"Just my computer. I'm behind on everything school-related." Levi continued to stroke Petra's hand, hoping that he wasn't causing her bruised fingers any pain.

Erwin nodded, closing the door most of the way.

"I'm sorry," whispered Levi. "I wish I could go back in time and fix this."

Petra remained silent, as expected, the beeping of the ventilator making the only sound in the otherwise silent room,

Levi squeezed her hand softly. "I hope you remember me."

He bowed his head to place a soft kiss on her forehead and felt the faintest pressure on the fingers that were clasped around Petra's hand.

_Wishful thinking,_ he assured himself as he leaned back in the uncomfortable hospital armchair and willed himself to fall asleep.


End file.
